Blog Post #2

In the Mr. Dancealot video, I first thought that it was just a video of a dance teacher teaching a class, and the first thing I thought was “That has to be the most boring and useless dance class I have ever seen.” After a while I realized that it was in fact staged. The overall message for this video was that not all teaching methods work for every student and subject. Lecturing may work perfectly fine for some classes, but when someone is teaching a student a skill, that teacher must allow that student to practice that skill. The author of this video makes his case by repeatedly showing the closed structure of the classroom and the professor being unwilling to allow students to talk or to leave their seats for a better view. Then at the end when it came time for the final, the students had absolutely no idea of how to dance. This conclusion was completely unfair to the students participating, and I know I certainly would not want to be in that class. I agree with the author’s statement that educators need to be able to evaluate the course they are teaching and tailor their teaching style to it and the students taking it.

At the beginning of the Teaching in the 21st Century video, Roberts asks whether or not the internet and increasing technology use makes the jobs of educators obsolete. At first the statement seems valid when it is taken into account that students have continual access to information through cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, Google, and many other tools. Roberts says that although teachers are not the main source of information anymore, they are now becoming filters meant to teach students how to use the internet and technology. I agree with him that students use technology daily and have access to what they need to learn. Although I do disagree with him that teachers are only good for teaching skills, I believe that we still need them for general education. Although students have access to information online, all students cannot learn by teaching themselves, it simply will not work for certain students. Also there are literally millions of online websites on every topic imaginable, and every one of those websites is going to say something different. Students need a reliable source of information and guidance in the form of an educator in the classroom. If Roberts is correct in his theories then what is the point of students going to school full time? It does not take as long as some may think to master technological skills, and going to school full time would be pointless. Also if teachers are not teaching their students information like history, math, science, etc., then why do they need to go to school for long? His theory may work for certain people, but for a students who learn more effectively with a real teacher and positively respond to one on one time, this theory is useless.

In the video,The Networked Student , the essential idea the author is getting across is that students these days are primarily responsible for their own education through the use of technology. In my opinion this is not an effective way of learning for most children. In a perfect world every student would have access to all of the technology that they need to learn, but the cold hard truth is that most schools do not have adequate technology. Many schools are still using computers that nearly predate the iPhone. These students cannot learn through networking because they do not have access to what they need to be networked. Plus, if a child is technologically illiterate then they need one on one education with a teacher. Also a teacher should know more than just how to navigate through the technological world, they need to get back to the basics and learn as much as they can in their field of study so they are prepared to answer questions for their students.

In the Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts video, the main idea the author is getting across is that education should be more student involved, giving them the excitment and energy they need to succeed in school. I agree with her that educators need to find a way to get their students involved, but not all students can learn through computers. This is very similar to when she said that not all sudents can learn with pencil and paper.

Before the Flipping the Classroom video, I had never before heard the words "flipping the classroom," but the idea is very similar to others I have seen. In the Flipping the Classroom video,the idea is to combine old school teaching with modern technology by having students prepare online the night before a lecture to better prepare them. I most agree with this style of teaching because it involves a little of everything. If a student does not learn well from computers then he does not have to worry because he has a lecture the next day. This style gives students options.