Blog Post #8

1.) Richard Miller: This is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2

  Richard Miller is showing a truth in today's world that many either do not like or do not see: how we interact and communicate is changing faster and on more levels now than in any time of history. In our parent's generation, when they were doing research or finding an answer, they went to the library and looked for hours only to spend even more time writing their findings down, but now it is different. Today, we can listen to lectures by professors from the top universities in the world, watch videos on every subject imaginable and be able to talk to experts, each from diffident parts of the world, at the same time. The time of only getting your information from the newspapers or having a small portion of your community see your work is over. Richard Miller explains that we live in a world that is changing how we gather information and present our ideas to others and as educators we need to use it.

  He did an article for Academe on the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting and he wanted to link the violence in the country to the way that government officials voted on what was called the "Bush Doctrine." This was the phrase many used to describe the foreign policy principles of President George W. Bush. Not once did he step in a library or open a book to create his work. Soon, it was in the magazine. What he said next though, I knew, but did not really understand until now: if it was only in the magazine it would be heard and then most likely thrown away but since it was also on their website it is here forever. This is an "incremental" change, meaning that instead of finding information in one means you can now find it all over, which now allows others to "shar[e] knowledge infinitely." Another change is being able to communicate with devices like Skype or Google+ to create documents that use text, pictures, videos or sounds and present them in both print and visual/sound documents. By utilizing all these new tools, children who are learning the information you are presenting can also see how you presented it and use these tools to explain the subject to someone else. A "fundamental" change is the vase works, updated information and the concept that we can "share ideas freely." Today, we are no longer limited to the four walls of the classroom but instead we can connect our students to the world by means that have never been seen before and it is this change, this rush of information, that makes learning so important.

  Just the other day I hear about two teachers, both have taught Literature for decades,  speaking about how neither one of them likes how the world is changing today. They want the old days where if you had a question you asked the teacher and the library was your only place to find resources. They still teach the same way, they use nothing from this century to help their students and it sounds like they do not even want to learn how to change. I remember many teachers like these who, while the other classes were learning how to type or find articles online, they only taught how to write with a pencil and paper and said that the library was the only "credible" source of information. We were learning the right way to write and that we could learn how to "play on the computer" on our own time; it was because of teachers like that, many students did not want to come to school. I saw my parents use a computer everyday and they showed how valuable it is for them and their business.  I do not want to be the teacher that does not use what is here to help my students, so I will follow Richard Miller's advice and keep learning. I want my students to leave knowing how to present their ideas to a world where the only limits we see are "the ones we place on ourselves."

2.) Responds to Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12
  In Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12 she explains the kind of teacher she wants to be for her students, why and how she wants to inspire them to do/be more, activities she has already begun to plan out for them and the kind of people she wants them to become. Here is a young woman who held onto her love of reading, writing and never staying still for life into a passion to teach other children this same joy. She has already begun to collect videos for her YouTube playlist and have linked them to lessons about being yourself, holding onto their creativity and looking for ways to change both their own and their peer's perspectives of others. I loved how she wants to create a classroom that is entertaining and want her students to actually enjoy their works by "reach[ing] them on levels they know and understand". She is not using technology to show videos and Power Points then forcing a book down their throats and wondering why they do not like reading or writing. She is using it as a tool to bring them into the world of Literature must like Richard Miller wants teachers in today's world to do and I am proud to have her example. I had only one teacher like Carly in college: he taught a class about the concept of physics and biology with superheros. He would show all the information about a hero to his students and have then, in scientific terms, how and why they could do what they did. It made many students want to learn more about the sciences and I believe that if there are more people like Carly succeed in becoming teachers then the world will make another great change for the better.

3.) Responds to The Clipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies
  Of the two videos I think that the EDM310 for Dummies shows the importance of the class in terms that it teaches time management  how to build your Personal Learning Network and the different ways to correctly include technology into the classroom. The Clipper Series sums up what might happen to a good portion of students who are not taught to look, learn or think on their own. Everyone told Clipper she was great, gave her awards instead of having her earn them and when she reached her last step before the real world she blamed everyone else but herself for failing. If I could take this same concept I would do a video when I would pick a group of freshmen students in high school, a group of freshmen in college and follow them for a year. I would ask them about their views on world topics, how their classes are going, what they have planned for the next few years and what they think of using technology in their classrooms. After a year I would show the high school students the college videos and the college students the high school videos and have them meet together. I would ask them what about the other group stuck out the most, did they say/doing things that you did not understand and is there something about them you want to do too. This way the high school students can see that college is not about drinking or playing hooky from class but as a means to prepare yourself for the real world. And the college students can see how much they have changed since high school as a way to encourage them to stay in school and keep going. I have always believed that when we see both the past and the future we are able to make better decisions about our lives because we are learning from our mistakes while preparing for a better day.

4.) Learn to Change, Change to Learn 
  After watching the video I am so delighted that the way I was taught in the past will never be seen by my own children because I want them to be connected to the world around them and to have the confidence to make their own mark. When texting first started I would watch these same two boys in my class text back and forth even when the teacher was talking to them and not once were they caught or did their grades fall.I finally asked them how they did this and their answer was simple: they worked. First they learned how to text, then how to do it while talking to someone and then finally they learned how to have multiple conversations with their friends through text while listening to the class lesson. It was amazing that they had done so much and they could so this because they learned to adapt. No one looked at the wheel and said "walking's better" and no one thought of penicillin and said "why not just give them some tea instead". Over time we kept changing and evolving how we learn, live, communicate and think and now we have entered a time where even the makings of the stars have been answered. My favorite part was at the end when the professor said that these times are "the death of education but the dawn of learning" because it is true. Today we have the means to use Apps to help locate constellations, games about math or reading, movie discussions on world topics or even social media sites to take us further than we even have before.

5.) Scavenger Hunt 2.0
Item #3 Make Beliefs Comix

Item #4 Photo Peach
  Here you can create slide shows like Power Point that have photos, music and quizzes on them to either help with the lesson or present to others what the students did for the day. With this you can start a class going over the main points, use photos or music to present it in a more upbeat manner and then have a quick quiz to see if you need to stay on the subject longer or if you can move on. This slideshow can also be embedded on blogs which the students can see ahead of time which will help make subject, especially the harder parts of history or math, easier to follow. If they can see what they are about to learn and actually enjoy it then they will want to keep learning and after a while have them create their owns to show on the class Blog. This way not only is the teacher showing them how it is to be done and presenting it in as a entertainment for learning but this way they can begin to get their thoughts and ideas out into the world in a safe environment  Now we can communicate with other students and teachers and see how others are learning, different ways to use the program and even start making their own Personal Learning Network.

Item #5 Poll Everywhere