Blog Post 2

#1
Did You Know is a YouTube video about information and statistics involving technology and its uses. The original video was created by Karl Fisch, but Dr. Strange made a version specifically for his EDM 310 students. The YouTube video is comprised of information about the modern world. Technology was once a tool which was used by small amounts of people, but now there is a mass population which is using technology.

Technology has been growing more advanced for years, and now, due to the technology, the knowledge of language and literacy is increasing daily. The video indicated that there are more people in China who have learned the English language than there are English speakers in the United States. The use of cellphones was also mentioned in this video.  Teenagers are notorious for over using their cellphones, and this video revealed the large amounts of teenagers which use cell phones. This video is very informative and interesting because of the statistics which it provided about the use of technology in the modern world.

#2
The YouTube video Mr. Winkle Wakes was about the exclusion of technology in the school system. This video began with an elderly man who just woke up from a long sleep. He began to walk around and explore the world which had grown and developed while he slept. He found an office and a hospital filled with technology, and the man left because he didn't understand how these pieces of machines could do such miraculous things. He entered a school and was comfortable because he recognized things as he remembered them.

This video was interesting to watch, and it made me think about the lack of technology in the classroom. I was under the impression schools were using technology everyday in every classroom. There are some teachers who are against having technology in their classroom, and this can hinder the students significantly. In the video there were pictures of students who had blank faces and who obviously did not want to be at school.  School should not be a place of boredom, but it should be a place where students are encouraged to be active and become interested in what is being taught. I believe technology is a way to keep the students interactive in the classroom.

#3
Ken Robinson's speech on The Importance of Creativity held my attention because of the accurate points he made and his humor throughout the video. He is very passionate about keeping creativity in the schools by not letting the students grow out of being creative. Robinson quoted Picasso by saying, "all children were born artists', the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up". Children are being taught that they should have a fear of being wrong. Before a child is brought into the school system they are not afraid of being wrong, and this kind of thinking can lead to some original ideas and creativity.

Robinson stated that "creativity is just as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same status.” At first I didn't agree with Robinson’s quote, but after continuing to listen I began to understand. Math and language are the top subjects in every country around the world, and the arts are considered inferior to these core subjects. Ken pointed out that teachers are concerned with students from the waist up, then only on their heads, and finally only on one side of the brain. If a student does well in the arts, then they should be encouraged to excel in it. There should be a change in education because not every student will learn and achieve the same way.

#4
B) The Pinterest website has become a very popular resource for anything. This website could be used to do numerous amounts of things like collect ideas for crafts or home decorating tips. There have been educators successfully use Pinterest in their classroom. There is an article online called Four Ways to use Pinterest in Education, this article lists and describes different ways to use Pinterest for teaching. The listed ways to integrate Pinterest in education would be lesson plans, sharing ideas, organization, and student use. I would use each listed to make my classroom more efficient because the ideas seem interesting and fun, this would also help introduce different ways of learning.

C) Now that I have a Pinterest account, it is time to follow some boards that will help me learn different ways to teach and present subjects to my students. The first person I am following would be Patricia Brown, on her EDTECH board, she has introduced different ideas to use technology in the classroom.  TeacherVision is another I began to follow and its board called Educational Technology. This board has thirty nine pins of technology being used in the classroom like, Twitter, Skype, iPads, Google Maps, and many others.

The third Pinterest account I am now following would be Kristin Brynteson. She has a board named Ed Tech, with plenty ideas for the classroom also. The pins on her board are very interesting and seem to have been used in a classroom setting before. The last account I am following is K S and this person's board is named Technology in Education, which holds 188 pins as of right now. I was able to look at many of the pins and click on it so I could learn what content the website processed.

D) Pinterest can be used form many different reasons but as an educator I would use it to introduce new ways of learning and teaching to my students. My students would have to opportunity to learn and use Pinterest. This website can have many different resources to use on research papers other items. I enjoy Pinterest because other teachers used it to come up with ideas and some educators would share their lesson plans. Educators are constantly wanting resources for their classroom and I consider Pinterest a wonderful resource.