Blog Post #2

Mr. Dancealot

Mr. Dancealot is a professor that teaches a dance class with out showing them how to dance. Instead he makes them take notes in a desk rather than them actually dancing. By the time they are suppose to dance, they do not know how to because they were not taught hands-on. If Mr. Dancealot would have taught them the right way by showing them hands-on in the classroom, they would have been more successful. Professors that teach this way will always have a bad reputation for teaching because they do not teach the actually skills but instead just give the information.

Harness Your Students Digital Smarts

Chris May’s Part

The video "Harness Your Students Digital Smarts" focuses on Vicki Davis's way of teaching. Mrs. Davis teaches in a classroom that is full of technology use. In the video Mrs. Davis is teaching her students about a new program. While talking about this program, Mrs. Davis brings up a very interesting point, that teachers do not need to know everything about a subject to teach it. She goes on to say that she is learning new things about the program just like her students are. She even says that her students have taught her things about this new program. I really enjoy her way of teaching, mainly because it is all interactive and there is no type of lecture in the classroom. It is all physically learning skills through technology instead of listening to a teacher lecture all day.

The Networked Student

Kai Lopez’s Part

The Networked Student is about a student in high school who has a teacher who never lectures and believes in connectivism. Connectivism is based off the belief of learning from social networking. He uses social networking to learn and share opinions by using Google Scholar and his schools library database. After gathering his information, he then creates his own blog so he can post about what he has learned. Then his classmates and others on social media can leave their comment and opinions on his blog post.

Now the question, "Why does the networked student need a teacher?" The teacher basically ties up all the strings for the student and is there for him if he has any questions. The teacher can show him how to be organized and creative with social networking. The teacher hopes that the student will continue using social networking and use it to help him with his work in the future.

By posting this video, Wendy Drexler, is trying to help students, parents, and other teachers understand networked learning in the 21st century. Drexler is showing how networking can be successful in a student or teachers work. Technology has been evolved to where it makes networked learning acceptable and easier to learn.   

Teaching in the 21st Century

Corey Waldon’s Part

“Teaching in the 21st century” by Kevin Roberts. His big question is what does it mean to teach in the 21st century? For me, to teach in the 21st century you must be able to talk and relate to your students in a way in which they can understand. The big word I saw in the video was engaged and I think to teach in the 21st century you must be able to engage with the students to maximize their learning. In order for students to learn in this time period teachers have to provide the basic fundamentals of learning and ways to learn. Robert sees teaching changes from books, pencil, and paper to social networks, blogs, and online web browsing. What I think Robert sees is technology and the advancement of education by using it. I feel that Roberts is right that teaching is not the same and that if we continue to teach facts, dates, and theories then what are we really teaching.

If Robert is correct this will affect me as a future educator because I will have to learn how to adapt to this new change. Future teachers themselves have to pick up the new technology and use it to teach children more about life and how to survive instead of just basic learning. Teachers must be open-minded and willing to try new things to accomplish the main goal, which is to educate their students. To me teachers are role model for kids and we must get them to express their thought and feelings openly while respecting them and learning from them. So instead of giving notes daily and forcing uninteresting lists of dates and facts into student’s minds, as a teacher we must give assignments that allow them to apply their own knowledge of a subject to expand their thinking. As a teacher we must also teach the relevance of the material and how it will benefit the student long term, and it goes beyond the walls of their classrooms.