Blog Post 2

What Will Teaching in the 21st Century be Like?

Mr. Dancealot 

In the video with Mr. Dancealot, we are given a prime example of the general "show and tell" style of education that is far too over used. Mr. Dancealot is the educator of a dance class and he doesn't even encourage the students to engage in the activities. This would have been highly beneficial for the students in the dance class, who never even learned to dance. The overall purpose of this video is to get present and future educators engaged in the classroom and not merely lecture at the students for the entire class period. This will ultimately benefit students who actually profit from class and can also gain favor for the teacher in the process.


Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts (John Strange version).

I. Approach of Past Teachers
  A. Fact Based
   1. facts
   2. dates
   3. theories
   4. research

II. Approach of Present/Future Teachers
  A.Skill Based
   1. cellphones
   2. social media
  B.Use of Technological Advancements
   1. blogs

III. Applications in the 21st Century Classroom
  A. Blogging
  B. Recording
  C. Designing
  D. Programming

IV. Things to Avoid
  A. Negligence in the Classroom
   1. plagiarism
   2. pirating

V. Students Involvement
  A. Engagement
   1. active
  B. Entertainment
   1. passive

VI. How to Begin
  A. See What's Out There
   1. try some software
   2. do some research
  B. Take a Risk

Roberts has made some very valid points in his presentation about the changing of educational practices in the 21st century. I would have to agree with him. In this day and age, much of the information that is being taught in the classroom in now made readily available at our fingertips. Therefore instead of discriminating against technology, why not use it to our advantage. This way as an educator, some of the work is already done for me. I won't have to simply burp back the information to my students. We could even add to the information with the implementation of a blog for future students and educators.


The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler

I think this is a very interesting form of locating and evaluating information about a specific subject.  A concern I have though would be how to determine the validation of some of the information that would be regularly posted. I feel confident that the majority of the information posted would be legitimate but there would always be a shred of doubt. No matter how advanced technology gets, I feel that there will always be the need for a teacher in the classroom to advise his/ or her students. I like the directions things are going and feel that they are definitely beneficial, but there will come a time where the students will need to seek the help from a teacher rather than fellow peers. I am all for them trying to figure things out on their own, and seek the help from others, but ultimately the teacher will be the deciding factor. I do however agree that these types of locating and gaining information should be used, because as time passes things will only become better and more advanced.


 Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts by Vicki Davis

The thesis of Vicki Davis' argument is that when you only give a limited set of supplies, only a certain group of students will succeed. Her argument is that every student can learn, but if you only give students paper and pencil, only some will succeed. I agree with her argument, but her argument can go both ways. If you start implementing technological advancements, only certain students will succeed. I agree however, that every student can learn, but every student won't be able to learn at the same rate as others who excel. I also agree that students should start, as early as possible, to be more familiarized with technology; so whenever they are in a class like this, whether in high school or college they can delve right in.  I respect what she is doing in her classroom. She is giving her students a chance to figure things out for themselves. She doesn't just sit back and spoon feed her students, she is giving them skills they will carry into the future.


 Who’s Ahead in the Learning Race? by Dr. Strange

From the video that Dr. Strange uploaded, I would have to say that the elementary students where winning the learning race. I was surprised at how familiarized the kids had already made themselves with their macs. I think it is a great thing that these kids are already being introduced to this type of advanced education, because it will only benefit them in their later years. Me being a member of the "undergrad" category, I find that I am behind in the learning race. I feel that if I would have had this type of rearing coming up, this class wouldn't be as difficult as it is sometimes. But the only way to learn it to take a risk, dive in, and learn from your mistakes. I commend these students and encourage them to keep up the good work, because they will definitely use those skills in the future.


Flipping the Classroom

Flipping the classroom was new to me. I have never even heard of this being implemented into the classroom until now. I think this is a positive outcome in the technology age we are in now. I like how this idea has basically taken over the homework aspect of the classroom, but it also carries over to the next day with the material covered the night before. This frees up so much time which benefits both the teacher and the students. I could definitely see this as something I could adopt and implant into my classroom. I think this would not seem so much like homework to students, but rather something they could look forward to, much like an activity for them to do at night. This will help engage more students into the conversations within the classroom. The teacher would no longer have to spend the majority of the class time reiterating information from the text, but could spend that time more usefully engaging in the material with the students.

Created by Jordan Sweat
1/23/2015