EDM 310 Blog Post #2

This post will be about the changes in the classroom that are occurring in the 21st century. There will be six videos that will be the basis on my thoughts.

The first video is called Professor Dacnealot by Kari Johnson. The central idea that the author of this video is trying to portray is that classes in college are often nothing but PowerPoint slides in class and then have some unreasonable test with questions pulled from everywhere but the slides. The author portrays this with the dance class being instructed by PowerPoint and then when it comes final exam day the students are required to perform a dance they had to learn from notes and not practice. I agree with the author. This video poses a very real problem in schools around the country today. Too many classes are turning into nothing but death by PowerPoint. There are so many classes that need to be taught with more than just PowerPoint slides. This video also shows that a lot of classes are built around the idea that everyone can learn off of PowerPoint slides and the notes you derive from them. This, however, is not the case. We all know that a lot of people learn differently, and I prefer more hands-on work.

 

The second video is Teaching in 21st Century by Kevin Roberts(John Strange version). To start with I will outline the video. The video starts with presenting you with the question of what teaching in the 21st century is. Then moves on to claim that teachers are a filter. With all the access that technology gives students they do not need teachers to help them learn but to help them filter out the wrong information. The author then gives you the answer on how to do that. You simply give them the skills to use online information correctly. You teach them how to paraphrase, avoid plagiarism, and to filter out sketchy website with factual ones. From there you need to use technology in the classroom so you can engage your students. Do not just tell them how to use Google but show them and let them do it. I feel like the author is on to something here. Technology has changed everything. Including teaching. The problem is that teachers have not kept up, but students have. They use this technology that teachers shy from. The problem is that they have not been taught the skills to use it correctly. I feel that it is about time that teachers caught up with the students.

 

 The third video is Networked Student by Wendy Drexler. After watching this video a good question is raised. Why does this student even need a teacher? Well the video answers that at the end and the past two videos help substantiate this author's claim greatly. The video tells you that the teacher is there to guide the student. When he needs help with his learning network or discerning information and how to use technology to learn the teacher is there to show him. This video helped to clarify a lot of the questions the other videos posed. For example I understood what the other videos were getting at, but had nothing to really compare them to. This video was an example of what a teacher should be like in the 21st century. I liked this video for its simplicity and with how easy it was to follow. It did not try to convince you of anything it just showed you a rising style of teaching in the 21st century. It was very enlightening for me.

The fourth video is Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts by Edutopia The main idea that Vicki Davis is posing is that students should be encouraged to learn by themselves and share what they learn with others. Teachers are there to guide and assist them. You are not holding there hands and pulling them along. You are nudging them from behind and encouraging them to step forward on their own. I agree with Davis. You can not hold everyone's hand and pull them along as you teach them. It is the teacher's job to help the student learn in their own way. 

Who's Ahead In The Learning Race

The above link will bring you to the fifth video which is a video blog by John Strange on the website Vimeo. To answer the question I would have to say that the Elementary students are ahead in the learning race. I myself am an undergraduate student. I can assure you that I did not have that kind of access to technology in my elementary days. The biggest reason for this outcome is fairly simple. Schools and teachers are just recently starting to catch up with the rest of the 21st century as far as utilizing technology goes. The simplest way to integrate is not to force the older kids into it but to start with the younger kids who are just starting to go to school and work your way up. This way you have an unfortunate gap in generations, but it is far simpler and more pragmatic. That is why the elementary kids are ahead and the rest of us must catch up. 

The last video is Flipping The Classroom- 4th Grade STEM posted by Lodge McCammon. This video teaches you about "flipping." This is a process where a student is given the material to study at night and the next day at school they can review and ask questions about the material. This is not new to me. Being an English major this is very common. We read the material before our class and then during class we review, clarify, and ask questions. I find this process to work out far better than learning the material in class and being unable to ask questions and review because the next class you can not waste time and must start learning the new material.

Note: All the videos, except #5, can be found on YouTube.