Blog Post # 10

I have been staring at this cartoon on and off today, and I think I have come to a conclusion. The Papermate to the left is the old outdated learning. He cost less but breaks all the time is a way of saying higher education costs more and lasts longer. Papermate is less quality than 21st century learning and with a little more money he could easily be a thing of the past. The Ticonderoga represents the new updated way of learning and teaching. By saying she is the most expensive purchase any hipster will make is an example of outdated education versus new education. Yes, the outdated way of learning is cheaper, but it is less effective than 21st century learning. I think the cartoon is meant to grab the reader's attention and focus in on giving our students a better quality education.

Part 2 Why Were Your Kids Playing Games? This post is about Mr.Spencer and a talk he had with the principal at his school. Basically the principal accuses Mr. Spencer of playing games in the classroom instead of teaching. He begins to explain that the students were engaged in this interactive activity. The principal will not have it he says the focus is helping the students pass the rote memorization test, so the main focus is memorization skills. Well Mr. Spencer believes interactive activities for students is a fantastic way for students to learn while having fun! In my opinion anyone that feels like games and fun interactive activities are not made for the classroom should not be a teacher or belong in education. While having fun students will not just learn new skills, but also everyday life skills and how they are applied in different situations. The problem solving skills are fantastic to teach because like I have said before students need to be able to fend for themselves. Students should not be spoon fed because they need to know how to help themselves and do simple problem solving skills on their own. I think Mr. Spencer is an excellent teacher and is doing a great job with his mind set in his classroom!

I also read the post Remember Pencil Quests?, and I agree that the old way of learning is nothing more than outdated. He starts off by explaining the game Pencil Quests that he remembered playing in school. The game was basically about following a predetermined map and using your pencil. The pencil was the only tool for being social in this particular activity. Isn't that sad? I agree that when I think back to some of the mediocre games and activities I played in school that they were the least bit interactive. The 21st century allows a new way of learning for students and an exciting place in the classroom for any teacher. If you let technology into the classroom, the students will only flourish and grow as a whole. Students need to have that opportunity to socialize with their classmates whether it be blogging or social networks. The classroom is full of endless opportunities if you are willing to open up to new ideas and leave the past in the past.

Part 4 Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please? By Scott Mcleod I could not agree more with Mr. Mcleod's poem about technology in the classroom. Why would we want such an evil tool influencing our students? It's called technology and it's changing around us daily whether we want it to or not. As educators why would we want to hold our students back from learning and interacting through technology. Well Mr. Mcleod hit the nail on the head, he basically states that porn, cyberbullying,sexting, and many more dangers are out there. Well I can remember in elementary school being so excited to take my accelerated reader test on the computer, because it was so much fun and way better than boring test on paper. It actually encouraged me to read so that I could take my test on the computer. That is actually really sad to be excited to take a test just because it is on a computer. I understand parents concerns about the internet, but this is educational and students will thrive when introduced to such and engaging way of learning. Why hold students back from their full potential?

Who is Scott Mcleod?
Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., serves as the Director of Innovation for Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency 8 in Iowa. He is also the Founding Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education known as CASTLE. The co editor of the popular series Did You Know?(Shift Happens). Scott Mcleod is also an expert on K-12 school technology leadership issues. Mr. Mcleod is an inspiration for advocating technology and education, and I enjoyed reading his blog post.