Week 1

Did You Know 3.0 by Karl Fisch:
This video scares me. I feel like technology is helping, and making everyday tasks much easier. I also think that it is enabling people. If we cannot recall simple things, like who played Thelma in Thelma and Louis, we simple google it instead of thinking about it. I also have think that computers and social networking are consuming people's lives. Most people I know are constantly on face book and my space instead of communicating with the actual people around them. This video only confirms that eventually computers will take over the world in theory by 2049.

I did not understand how all of the statistics tied into how computers are going to be so advanced. I do not see why the fact that China is going to be the largest English speaking country had anything to do with technology. I also did not understand why it mattered that x amount of babies were being born in the duration of that video.

Mr. Winkle Wakes by Matthew Needleman
This video shows how not be technologically advanced can hurt you. The above paragraph is my negative view on technology, but I also can see where the rapid advancing of technology is good. School has been left out of the "technology" world for the most part. Do not get me wrong, a good book is amazing, but computer skills are a necessity for later in life. Most schools do not concentrate on computer skills. Schools have been the same for years. The material is not stimulating in any sense.

Children need more than just pen and paper to keep their attention. Working with things like the Promethean boards is an example of using technology to help stimulate a child's mind. Allowing students to be "hands on" is also a way to get them to pay attention. Schools need to be updated.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
I like this video. Robinson keeps it going with his jokes, but he also gets his point across. He is very easy to listen to. It does not even seem as if he is giving a speech. It is almost like you are in a conversation with him. I like this video. He also has a great point.

Schools do push out creativity. They concentrate on things like math and English. The arts are the first thing in a schools budget to get cut. This is not fair. What if a child loves acting, and wants to be on broadway. Most of the time their dreams are shot down. Children are told to get their head out of the clouds when they say things like I want to be a singer, or dancer, or actor. Who is to decide the purpose of education. I understand that it may not be the schools job to foster creativity, but it is the schools job to stifle it as well? I believe education is somewhere in between. I think it is the school's job to assist children in determining what they would like to pursue in their adult career. It is also their job to equip the children with the tools to achieve what they decide upon doing. Many schools are not assisting children with those tools if they are interested in the arts as a career choice.

I have always thought the education system was complete crap. It is bias toward the left brain. What about the right brain kids? I do believe the movie Accepted pretty much summarizes my view on the education and what it should be. Everyone should watch it, and reflect.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
I loved this video. I think that Vicki is doing something amazing with her classroom. I wish I could have played with Avatars in my high school, or travel to the Middle East. She is allowing the students to go outside of the regular text book. She is opening their eyes and showing her students that there is a world outside of their small town in Virginia.

I think that that in itself is amazing. So many people are blind to the fact that there are so many people in the world, and they are all different. People have different beliefs, and customs. The one thing we all have in common in the internet. So why not learn about other people through it! You rock Vicki Davis.