Blog Post 2

In my opinion, the central message in Mr. Dancealot’s video is how NOT to teach dance, or any class for that matter. All he did was stand behind a desk and danced, then got onto a student for trying to see his footing. If I were in this class, I feel as if I would have to teach myself. Mr. Dancealot was also not specific about the final exam at all. I doesn’t even seem like he told the students that they were going to have to dance, because he just said it was going to be ‘Open notes.” He also zoomed in on the one student he kept getting onto the entire class. How are the others going to be graded if the camera is just on one couple? I do not agree with the way Mr. Dancealot was teaching in the video. For that kind of class, it needs to be hands on and have interaction. 

In the video Teaching in the 21st Century, it was made to show teachers that the learning styles are changing and how you may be able to adapt to these ways. He quotes that “Students need to be engaged, not entertained.” I can’t agree more with that statement. Teachers need to stop worrying about just getting through the day, and instead on how to further educate and involve the children. In my personal experience, children learn faster and remember more whenever they are actually involved (projects, experiments, etc.) 

Outline:

Robert is arguing that teaching in the 21st century is different and that we need to change our way of teaching with the resources provided to us. 

1. Teaching in the 21st century.
1. Changes classroom discussions
2. Technology skills
3. Easier to access information

II.     How will you teach in the 21st century?

1. Google, Twitter, Youtube, blogs, etc
2. challenging homework scavenger hunts

I love the way Robert is challenging the typical way to teach. At times I get very annoyed with the technology we have today, but to be honest, I love it. I feel as if kids are so smart now, even if its only about things that they independently search on their own. There are so many children that have Youtube accounts now with educational type videos uploaded, teaching other kids. Robert made plenty of good, strong points throughout this video. One of my favorites was the online scavenger hunt type games, like searching for the highest ranking jobs. 


In the Networked Student, it seems as if the student doesn’t even need an educator, but the educator educates him about the technology. The student needs an educator to provide guidance, supervision, help with internet issues, and give reliable references/resources. Through this, the student was able to get help on his own from Berkley. The teacher provided her student life-long tools and you could easily see how it impacted her student.

In Harness your Students’ Digital Smarts, I believe that the thesis is teachers shouldn't feel obligated to know everything about what you're teaching before you go into your classroom. The kids teach you as well. This video particularly was my favorite out of the bunch we had to watch. It was so cool watching these kids create avatars, blogs, and really seem like they know what they are doing. “They get to experience the trends and learn about the trends with people all over the world.” (Davis) I think Vicki Davis is a brave, yet very successful teacher. It seems as if the teens in her classroom love the class itself. 

In Dr. Stranges’ Who’s Ahead in the Learning Race movie, I fully believe that the children at Gulf Shores Elementary have the upper hand. They are successfully using QR’s, blogs, audio, MacBooks, and more. It made me come to the realization that the graduate school South isn’t as technology based as I would have thought. Education majors should definitely know these type of computer friendly gadgets, but in this day I believe every major should. One thing I thought was really awesome was the QR codes that the students would scan. It was the same as the teacher reading out loud to them and them following along. It takes the focus off of the teacher, and puts it more on technology, good or bad. I don’t think I am behind on any of these gadgets, however I did not learn them from school, I learned them independently. 

In Ms. Munafo’s Flipping the Classroom, she described in detail what this strategy was. I have heard of this, as well as seen it, but I didn’t understand all of it. I think it gives children more of an insight on what they are studying and makes them excited since they can do some part on their own (we all know kids like to be independent, good or bad..) I think this would be a great approach for older classrooms, such as 5th and 6th grade, with difficult concepts. I, however, will probably not use this as a kindergarten teacher. 

In the blog post Bringing the Locker Room to the Classroom, I found it to be very interesting. This would be a good approach to students who are athletes. I like how it makes everyone interact with one another to find things out. This sort of makes me think of the team-based learning classes that I have been a part of here at the University of South Alabama.