Blog Assignment #5

     Travis Allen created The iSchool Initiative and the video ZeitgeistYoungMind's Entry which are both filled with lots of thought provoking information. He suggests that all school systems should switch to the iSchool. The iSchool is exactly what it sounds like, a school on an Apple device. Mr. Allen is extremely knowledgeable and well spoken for his age. In his videos he provides solid information backing the iSchool and how it could save money for school administration as well as their students. Also, he explains how the system would work through a variety of applications on the iPhone or iTouch even. I was very impressed with his reasoning and was forced to double check my thoughts towards a 100% technological school.


     My hesitations are simply for the students social and physical well being. To think of our future children staring at a computer screen day in and day out scares me. I have hopes of my children enjoying playgrounds and having pool parties with their friends. What Mr. Allen has proved to me though is that both worlds can exist. Students can do their homework on the iSchool and then go play outside, just like they do now except their homework is on paper. Which brings up another great argument by Mr. Allen, going green! Think of all the trees we would save if every student wrote essays, worked out math problems, and read books on the iSchool. Instead of cutting down trees to write a book report on paper, kids could type up the report and then go climb those trees! Travis Allen is right, we need to be embracing the era that future generations are being born into and begin teaching them the ways of technology.


     I was amazed when I watched the video Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir. It is astounding at how many resources the internet offers but this is one resource I never would have thought of. To sing each part individually on their own yet at the same time to produce perfect harmonies is a very hard thing to do. Eric Whitacre is a musically inclined technology genius! He fits the description of a true artist so perfectly there isn't even any wiggle room. A crazy thought is that each and every member of his choir are separated in a physical sense, maybe they have never even met in person, yet through the internet they are capable of creating melodies that choirs who meet every day in a classroom strive for.


     When I watched the video Teaching in the 21st Century it put things into perspective for me as a future educator. Kevin Roberts, the creator of the video, makes a valid point about the future importance of teachers. He shows many different ways students can learn and research information which ultimately makes the job of a teacher a has been occupation. However, as Roberts points out teachers can and will still be teaching years from now. The theory he is suggesting is that educators will be teaching students how to use the tools of technology, which in turn makes teachers very much needed.


     I feel as if Roberts really hit home in this 21st century based video. His opinions concerning the changes in education may or may not come true, we won't know until the time comes. Yet, his preparations are much needed in the lives of our students today. Teachers shouldn't worry about becoming "obsolete" as Roberts states, they should worry about the fact that we have wasted so much teaching time with our students already. The Mac is the perfect example. Schools are replacing regular PC's with Mac's as we speak, but most teachers do not have the skills to properly work one let alone teach their students to use one too. It is now that we must swallow our pride and learn alongside our students. The sooner we learn as teachers, the sooner our students will be impacted. Kevin Roberts is setting the standards high and teachers across the land should run, leap, and jump to push that bar higher as we grow and flourish into an education system that is prepared to take on the technology age.

     Why I Flipped My Classroom was definitely my favorite video of this blog post. It didn't have special high tech graphics or fancy moving blurbs of information like the other videos that I've watched and enjoyed, but it had a subject matter that I, as a future teacher, worry about when day-dreaming about my first year of teaching. Katie speaks about "flipping" her classroom's seating and approach to reach her students more effectively. She figures out that because of how her classroom was setup she wasn't meeting the needs of the students who are not centered in the seating chart. To change this, Katie uses the internet as her main resource by uploading the lesson's content online. The students can review lessons as many times as they want, move ahead if they are absorbing the information faster than others, also they can preview all of the things that will be talked about in class that day. She then grouped her students desks together so now if she goes to help a student there are others listening in on questions they might have as well.


     This video needs to be put into action. As Katie states, "90% of the classroom time is spent on delivery from the teacher and only 10% is used for interaction or meeting the individual needs of each student". With that said, are we even really teaching our students? If the majority of the time spent with my students is wasted because of my own neglect for observation then something must be done. To teach someone is to provide them with something new, something they couldn't do or didn't know before, not spit information in one ear and hope it doesn't spring out of the other ear before a test. Katie has a pretty clear idea about what teaching is and she is doing it. She is taking educational risks and thinking outside of the box. The boundaries that she has crossed have opened a whole new world for teachers and their students. Katie's method of teaching is going to impact her student's and hopefully colleagues immensely.