Blog Post #2

Mr. Dancealot:

Katlyn, Tarcela, Alex and I agree that: In this video, the class is enrolled in a dance class with Mr. Dancealot. We believe Mr. Dancealot is an inefficient teacher. The first reason we believe he is an inefficient teacher is because he looked as though he was unprepared; he often made references to the notes on the board. While Mr. Dancealot relied on his dance lesson notes to instruct how to perform the dance steps, it showed how Mr. Dancealot was unprepared and inefficient on the topic. A second reason we believe Mr. Dancealot is an inefficient teacher is because his students were unable to see the steps needed to master the dance, since Mr. Dancealot was behind his podium explaining the dance steps. Mr. Dancealot did not allow his students to practice. Many of the students in his class were bored, and we don’t blame them! He seemed to talk a lot and he did not encourage class participation.  In one part of the video, a student stood up to practice the dance steps and the student was told by Mr. Dancealot  “to sit down I am  teaching.” We think an important part of dancing and how to learn different dances is by practicing. Although he used powerpoints to teach, we do not believe that is the proper way to teach a dance class. We do not think he should have relied solely on power points to teach the different dances. He expected his students to dance each of the dances he taught for the final. We do not understand how that is fair! Learning dance is about practicing each move and rehearsing over and over. Those are the reasons we think Mr. Dancealot is an inefficient teacher.

Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts by Jake Dukes: This teacher has a very different style of teaching, but I like the way she teaches her class. In her class, she doesn't use any paper at all, everything they do in class is online. She believes that teaching on the computer gives the students a better chance to learn information about a certain subject. She also thinks that not everyone learns by writing stuff down on paper, and I believe that is true. Everyone has their own way of learning. Another thing that I like about her classroom is the ability for the students to teach the class for a day. She does not  teach the class every day, and I think that helps the class. Listening to the same boring lectures every other day from a teacher can get old. I like when teachers switch it up and try something different with how they teach their class. The one thing that I did not like about everything being on a computer is, students tend to venture off, and they may go on some websites that are not class related such as Facebook and Twitter that may distract the class from learning.

Teaching in the 21st Century by Katlyn Lusker : Kevin Roberts hit it dead on when he came up with “Teaching in the 21st Century.” This video was so powerful and I think every student wanting to be a teacher, especially an elementary teacher, should watch it. A  part of the video that meant the most to me is, when I read that the “students do not need to be entertained, they need to be engaged.” I learned that entertainment is far from engagement and I am so glad to have realized the difference. “Entertainment is passive; it is for enjoyment; it is short-lived, it does not require relevance, it allows escape from problems, and it is using the creativity of others.” Engagement, on the other hand, is “active; it is for learning, it has long-term results, it is meaningful and applicable, it solves problems, and it uses the creativity of the participant.” Like the video said, “engagement can be fun and exciting, it is our responsibility as teachers to provide meaningful and powerful engagement.”

I think Kevin Roberts thinks teaching in the 21st century means to teach students using different tools than what we've ever had to teach with before. Technology is evolving faster than ever, and we are starting to realize that. Even the age at which we start using technology is seen at a younger age than ever before. Therefore, I believe he thinks we need to start teaching students on more relevant subject matters, and not just teach them new things, but we also need to teach them how to acquire the skills in order to learn the different things.

I strongly agree with all of the positions expressed in this video. It kind of goes along with why I think Roberts is correct when he wrote this. I agree with his statement, “If teachers can only provide facts, content, dates, information, and formulas, then our role in the lives of students is obsolete.” That is so true because if someone has a question, the Internet is so convenient and it has endless amounts of answers. It is true that “students can find information on anything, anytime, and anywhere.” “Information is virtually limitless, and teachers are no longer the source of information.” Unfortunately, this could be bad news for teachers.  This is exactly why we need to change the way we teach and why we need to change what we teach. We need lessons that are “engaging, challenging, and most importantly relevant!”

The Networked Student by Tarcela Kohn:  This video is very compelling and visual. I thought it was a different way of introducing and explaining what a networked student really is. What I gathered from the video is that a networked student is knowledge that is spread out among people and the network connections of other people. By informing and teaching students where to find reputable information on the internet,they can build personal learning networks. Through this, students can communicate using these tools.

I really like this method of a “Networked Student.” It teaches the students how to build networks and then gather information on different topics which we find unique or need to know. We then can converse within these networks and debate or reflect on the information that was discovered.

When it comes to needing a teacher for the networked student I would agree with the video. The teacher is there as a model. Without a teacher who knows the material and the ins and outs of the technology that their students will be using to make personal networks for learning. Who will the student go to and will the student’s even use this “Networked” as resource that will help them become lifelong learners?

Flipping the Classroom- 4th Grade STEM by Alex Hopson: Flipping the classroom could possibly be a good idea, but I do not believe it is necessary for 4th grade students. These young children have enough trouble paying attention for seven hours at school a day that they do not need the extra work this flipping will give them. These students would have a hard time sitting in front of a computer screen with a book and paper to take notes with, I just do not believe the attention span is there for these children. Now for older students at the high school and college level this could definitely be useful. It would give students a chance to understand more difficult materials instead of having to pay for tutors. So yes this is a good idea for furthering the education of students, but not for the younger students.