Blog Assignment #2

Did You Know? 3.0
The clip of “Did You Know?” stated a ton of facts and data that have been changing since technology started. The scary thing is, the numbers that this clip produced about how people are using data and technology today. I wasn’t expecting to be shocked the way I was after watching this. I have always known how wonderful technology is and how important it can be in everyday situations, but I didn’t realize just how much it is being used to save lives. The clip showed how doctors and nurses are using technology to improve their studies and the lives of their patients.

What I also didn’t realize is how the technology that I am using today will be outdated in no time. The rate at which technology is used not only here in America but all over the world is amazing. It is allowing people to connect with one another on a whole different level. Technology is saving people and saving education and this video is exact proof of that. People are able to understand things better with access to the world at their fingertips. Technology is the number one key to success in today’s world because everywhere you go, someone somewhere is using it.

Mr. Winkle Wakes
I must say that this is by far my most favorite clip. Mr. Winkle wakes after a 100 year sleep to find him-self very confused in the world. Everything around him had changed and he did not know what to do. When he went out of his home to adventure into the streets, everything scared him. Hospitals were not the same, jobs were not the same, and the people around him were not the same. It wasn’t until he reached the school grounds that he began to feel comfortable with this new world. He loved the fact that there was not any new technology in the classrooms. He felt like all the other students because they were using just pen and paper like he was accustomed to. Mr. Winkle had finally found his place in life and it was at school.

What is ironic here is the fact that when you first watch the clip, you feel bad for Mr. Winkle because everything has changed. The daily activities that he was used to had been changed dramatically. What I soon came to realize is that technology has changed everywhere but in the classroom. I have always known that the classrooms are outdated and that it needs to be changed, but I didn’t realize just how outdated they were until watching this. I think it hit me when Mr. Winkle loved school and didn’t want to leave. He was finally comfortable and felt at home with the school. I wanted to shake Mr. Winkle just because he should not have felt at home. School is the foundation of our education and we have here a 100 year old man feeling at home in our classroom. This is sad and I hope technology in the classroom picks up tremendously.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
I am so glad that someone has touched on this subject because there are so many students in school that are not passing by the standards set by the school system. The problem with this is that the student is smart, but because he/she cannot pass according to the set standards, they are deemed as failing. The four main subjects are Math, Science, History, and English; these are important subjects but what about the students who are excellent in the arts? Why separate them and make them feel not important because they aren’t as good at the standard level? Schools as a whole discriminate against creativity and this segregates the students that are more individualistic than others.

School systems today centralize on standardized testing and making sure that all students are on the same page. This may be good in the sense that making sure all students are productive citizens, but is this good for individualism? I believe that by taking the creativity away from the students turns them all into one type of person. We are all created by God to be individualistic and to not fit into a norm. If schools focused more on the needs of the students rather than just the standardized testing way, there would be more graduates from high school and college.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts
This woman is a high school teacher from a rural area in Georgia. She teaches computer efficiency to the students and how to apply it to everyday life. She teaches ways to use the computer to make life easier for the students. It is a hands on class that uses the most high tech technology available and turns it into a user friendly way. I particularly liked the way she used Smart phones in the classroom to show the students all the things they can do to make their life better. She makes the students understand the importance of technology in a fun way. She shows them ways to apply it to job skills and how to use it for college classes.

My favorite thing about this whole clip was the fact that she is teaching this technology to students who may not even have a computer. She helps them to not be afraid of the technology that they are using and how easy it can be to use it. She is connecting them to the whole world in just one class and for some students; this may be the only connection they get with other nationalities. I cannot stress enough how important this class is that she is teaching. I hope more classes’ incorporate her way of teaching so that students today can be job ready as well as college ready.