Blog Assignment 5

Scott McLeod
Dr. Scott McLeod is an educator at the University of Kentucky.  This week we had to read one of his blog posts titled Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?  This is a very sarcastic blog entry.  He criticizes the internet and all of the bad stuff that is out there like, sexting, cyberbulling, and porn.  Dr. McLeod wants educators to use technology as an asset to their classrooms.  I think that students need to be introduced to all the aspects of the internet, the good and bad.  Not allowing our students to be able to use the internet would be detrimental to their learning experience.  The internet can be a great learning tool if used correctly.

Travis Allen's iSchool Initiative
Travis Allen is the creator of the iSchool Initiative.  This is a collaboration of students who promote the use of electronics, such as the iTouch, to make education more efficient and less expensive.  In his short video, he outlines how useful these electronics can be in a classroom setting.  He shares how much money can be saved by using these as well.  Books, calculators, calendars, notes, periodic tables, and much more can all be used on an iTouch for students to use in the classroom.  Using these electronics allows easy access for teachers, students and even parents to communicate and stay updated on all of their work.

I think this is a fantastic idea, if it is funded by the schools.  Many families would not be able to afford the software needed to the iSchool Initiative to work.  If more and more schools are becoming aware of this technology, I don't see why it couldn't work.  Just because of the costs alone, I think the iSchool Initiative could really take over.

The Virtual Choir
Eric Whitacre conducts 185 people from around the globe in this "virtual choir," found here.  These people never had to meet together to perform this piece, which is absolutely beautiful.  All of this is possible through technology.  It's incredible how small the world tends to seem when you can use technology.  It was very neat to see the faces of these people from far and wide "come together" to sing in a choir.  Technology is so efficient in bringing things together and sharing information.

Teaching in the 21st Century
In this video, Kevin Roberts explains where he thinks education is headed.  He is worried that there are too many resources out there that the students would rather use that learning from a teacher.  With Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, Twitter, and many more there is becoming less of a need for a teacher.  Today's teacher is now more of a guide through all the facts.  They are the filter.

I feel that in today's society that the teacher needs to be more involved in the classroom.  That teaching needs to be a two-way street.  Not only do the students need to learn from the teacher, but the teacher needs to learn from the students.  With this being said, I need to be aware of the new technologies to be able to communicate better with my students and keep them interested.  There are so many ways to stay connected these days that this should not be too difficult.  I want to be a good role model for my students and I hope I can learn as much from them as they learn from me.

Reading Rockets

This website has an incredible amount of information about how to help those who struggle with reading.  For me, going into math education sometimes I think, "I'm not going to have to deal with students struggling to read."  I then think again.  This is not the case.  Surprisingly, math involves reading too.  A section on this site that I found helpful is the reading for English Language Learners (ELL).  After taking Education in a Diverse Society here at South Alabama, I realized how many students I will probably have whose first language is not English.  This site gives articles and videos on how to help those ELL's.

Even math students suffer from dyslexia

Thinking about an activity I did in some of my other education classes, dyslexia is a common learning disability that students may have.  Many students don't realize their disability until they grades are already failing.  This page on this site gives an impressive overview of dyslexia and some strategies teachers can use to help those students who suffer from this.  I found this site to be incredibly helpful!