Blog Post #10

My Response to John T. Spencer's Cartoon I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga on his blog Adventures in Pencil Integration
  In this picture you are shown two people, with unique names and with different descriptions about themselves but what you see is not the real meaning. Papermate is a popular brand of pencils that are so ordinary and common that most people in the U.S. have used them during their education years. It is shown as a middle age man in a suit and tie most likely showing its long age in sell pencils. Ticonderoga is a brand of pencils as well but they are vastly more expensive than Papermate even though when you compare them they are made of the exact same material. This pencil is shown as a young man wearing clothes much like a teenager or college student might wear too. Here you have two pencils that each do the same tasks as the other but one cost more because of its brand; this is not about pencils. I believe that Mr. John T. Spencer is trying to explain is that a teacher does not always need the latest item or program to teach but that sometimes the most effective way to teach is the simplest. Papermate and Ticonderoga both do the same functions and in the cartoon he is saying that the "hipster" teacher will buy the more expensive item to stay up-to-date when it is not needed. Yes, I love a SmartBoard and I see how a class blog will help my students build up not only their communication and writing skills but also their self esteem in putting their works out into the world but I see that there are some task that do not call for a computer. Need to get them working on math problems? Write out some worksheets. Want to link Literature and Art together? Have them draw a picture and write its story. I think what Mr. John T. Spencer is saying is that not everything needs smoke and mirrors to get the message across and as teachers we need to know where to draw the line so that we do not waste time and money on items that will do the same task as ones that are cheaper. I know that there are some subjects where technology will do more than I can for my students but I also know that sometimes all they need is a pencil and paper to learn. I see the benefits of both of these "pencils" and I know that when it comes time for me to teach that I will understand which will be best for each assignment and which I can save for another day.

My Response to John T. Spencer's Why Were Your Kids Playing Games? on his blog Adventures in Pencil Integration
  In this dialogue between a teacher and principal, you see that the principal want the students to be taught in the terms that they will be tested on only, while the teacher wants to do more. He explains that they were not "playing games," but instead were creating real-world solutions to varies scenarios. They were having to think on multiple levels, for different outcomes and be able to back up their reasons for their actions just like they will have to do in the real world. The principal wanted to teach what was going to be on the state exams and nothing more. This is what Professor Strange calls the "burp back" method, where children are only taught what is on the final exams and how ever much a child "burps back" on the paper is their grade. This is only about memorization for one exam and nothing else. I remember an event from high school where in history we had to made a project about the civil war and I was paired with one of the smartest kids in the class. While working, I saw that he could state dates, important facts and people but when I asked questions like "how do you think this would had effected us today if the war happened when Columbus found America?" I found out that he did not understand the subject pass the exam paper. He could tell you anything about the subject if it was in the text book but did not understand the subject itself; he could not think outside of what he knew or connect the dots to other subjects. He was the perfect example of  a "burp back" student. In Mr. John T. Spencer's post he is trying to explain that we cannot teach ABC when a student is young and then wonder why they cannot think in terms of XYZ when they are adults. By using what a student already knows, like games or songs, and twisting them into a way that they are learning new skill while sharpening old ones, you are changing how they think. He even showed a way that the teacher in the dialogue could follow the rules placed by the principal, while still teaching in the method that he wanted: he connected the state reading and writing requirements into a project called the "Factory Game." I never want to be the teacher who only taught what was required and not once inspired my students to dream and think in new ways. I will not be a "burp back" teacher.


My Response to Scott McLeod's Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please? post on his blog dangerously ! irrelevant
  In this post, Mr. Scott McLeod is, in a creative way, stating the same excuses that many give as to why both they and their children are not "tech savvy  in today's world. Common remarks I heard from other adults in my family when I started this class are listed here like twitter being a "bunch of crap" and that if you give a kid a computer that they will not use it for school but find porn instead. I see technology as a loaded gun: this can both help and hurt both them and others so I need to teach them how to use it properly. First, I would not simply hand it over to them, expecting them to know common sense of how to use it and then getting angry if they never use it to help themselves. The first thing that I would do is talk about every bad or wrong thing that this gun or "technology" can do and show them how to spot warning signs of a predator. I would explain that the same tools used to help can also hurt, but that by learning more they can spot these dangers and be able to maneuver better and be responsible. Next, I would explain that there are different types of "technology" that you can use and each type has a specific way of getting the information out to their audience. I would explain that there are many different ways to hit their goal for the communication, such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Blogger. In order to know which to use they need to practice in a safe, adult controlled environment where they can learn new skills and see where they are comfortable. If they can only use a BB gun or "find videos on YouTube about a class subject" then they need to stay there until they feel more comfortable but that they need to still keep learning. At the end of the post after he says "don't do any of it please" he states "really/ 'cause i'm doing all of it with my kids/ can't wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two/ can you?". I think that what Mr. Scott McLeod was trying to explain is that the world is changing at a much faster rate that it has before and to not allow your child to be a part of it because you do not see its value will do more harm than good. He is asking us to stop using excuses as to why we do not want to be connected and instead learn how because soon what we are trying to figure out today will become second nature to our children sooner than we think.