Blog Post #5

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff Please? By Scott McLeod

Dr. Scott Mcleod uses sarcasm by telling parents, teachers, administrators, and board members not to teach their kids to use the internet for reading and writing. He states "because the pen and paper are not going anywhere." He also says there is no need for them to learn how to make videos, audio, write codes, write blogs, and use social networking sites. He also states "and especially no cell phones."
He also states "it's evil, you know there's bad stuff out there gotta keep your children safe"
At the end of his post he makes it clear that he is going to continue to teach his kids everything he can about technology. He is making a point that yes there can be problems with the internet such as cyber-bullying, predators, and porn. However we don't need to let that scare us away. We just need to be safe with our use of the internet and teach our children how to safely use technology. We need to teach our children how to keep up with the fast advancing world of technology so that they will be prepared for the future.

Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., "is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues." Dr. McLeod is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He also is the Founding Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), "the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, and was a co-creator of the wildly popular video series, Did You Know? (Shift Happens)."
All information was found on Dr. Mcleod's website and (CASTLE's)website.

The iSchool Initiative and ZeitgeistYoungMind's Entry

The iSchool Initiative video was made by a Georgia high school student named Travis Allen.
He first addresses the issues facing America's Public Education system which are massive budget cuts, teacher lay-offs, and increasing classroom size.
He discusses using the itouch, a hand held device by Apple similar to an iphone in the classroom. The teachers will work with the students to complete all of their schoolwork using the itouch. His idea is to replace all textbooks, workbooks, library books, paper,copiers, and just about anything that can be done with the hand held device. This would save the school systems a ton of money and would also be good for our environment. I must admit, this would be a huge undertaking and would not happen overnight. However, I think that it can be done and I applaud Travis Allen for his ideas.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

The video of Eric Whitacre's virtual choir performing "Lux Aurumque" was truly amazing. There were 185 voices from 12 different countries put together through the internet and posted on you-tube. I really enjoyed listening to the heavenly voices, but the fact that this was done with all the singers being worlds apart was truly incredible. I am just amazed at how for technology has advanced. There seems to be endless possibilities at what can be done with technology these days.

Teaching in the 21st
Century

In this video I think Kevin Roberts puts everything into perspective. He asks the question "What does it mean to be a teacher in the 21st century." We live in a digital world today and students need to have the skills to survive in the digital world. However, there is more to teaching then just providing computer skills to a child. Technology is a tool that the teacher can use to help facilitate learning. The fundamental skills needed in life cannot be obtained by just logging onto the internet. Teachers will always be needed to teach students how to read, write, comprehend, analyze, evaluate and make decisions. However these skills can be enhanced by the help of technology. A teacher in the 21st century will need to be technologically literate to enable them to use all their available resources to prepare their students for the future. The basic fundamentals of teaching will never change completely, but they can be enhanced with technology.

Reading Rockets

I agree with Anthony Capps this is a very valuable website for teachers. There is a very significant amount of information and I have not completely viewed the entire website. This is one website that I will be looking at again. It has a wealth of information for teachers and parents. One section that I thought was very informative was the "Helping Struggling Readers." I was shocked to find out that learning to read was a challenge for almost 40% of kids. In this section there are links identifying why kids struggle. There are even links on how to find extra help. It has information on how to have a child evaluated to identify any potential problems. I think that it is very important that a child develop strong reading skills early on to help them with the rest of their education.
If they can't read well then they can't learn well. I strongly believe that everything cannot be left up to the teacher. Parents need to be involved in a child's education early on. My son is in the second grade and either my wife or I go over his reading and homework assignments every night.

The "Video and Podcast" section was another section that I thought was very beneficial for teachers, especially new teachers. That are links to videos and podcasts that you can download from itunes and they are free. There are a wide assortment of podcasts that you can listen to from experts in the field of reading. They provide strategies on how to identify reading difficulties, the importance of early reading skills, and the role of using phonics with reading instruction. Phonics was used in my son's 4K class and it really helped him to prepare for 5K. There is also a "Reading Rockets Dadcast" series for fathers who want to learn more about their child's literacy development.