Blogg 3: Technology in the Classroom

So ths is a fairly sticky topic.  How does one define successful technology use? One thing that makes this so contriversial is that all technology is not equal.  I have been placed in a school where the teachers still have chalk boards and students who attend this school are at poverty level income.  It does not seem to me that every child is getting the same level of education.  Isn't that one of the tenants of public education that all children will recieve an equal education?  From what I have personally witnessed, this is certianly not happening.  Funds are going to "critical needs" areas such as math and science in order to be able to compete in the global community.  Other areas such as the humaities are being left by the wayside.  If we educate our students to solve quantum physics equations but they cant tell you where the Great Lakes are located or they cant read a simple childrens book what does that say about teaching in the United States.  Technology should be spread evenly through out the cirriculum and all monies designated for technology should be used for such (unlike what is happening now).  If we dont provide these kids with a solid working knowledge of technology we are crippling them for life. They will be doomed to always be playing a game of catch up with the rest of society.

Blogg 2

So this post is over the Sir Ken's video.  This is not the first time I have seen this video, nor do i suspect it will be the last.  I guess the most popular quote from the video which I see my other groupmates making is that "creativity is as important as literacy".  I am going to go ahead and jump on the band wagon and say yes it most certianly is.  When you think about it logically, creativity is the core of individuality.  When you stifle the creativity, in my opinion you are stifling the individual.  So often we see that students are becoming nothing more than "future Jeopardy contestants", meaning that we are doing nothing to creatively inspire them to peice together the significance of larger events.  We as educators are just giving them a hand full of facts that mean nothing other than the answer to simple trivia questions.  If we tap into each childs creativity then we ensure maximum retention and maximun learning.  We are educators after all isn't learning the name of the game?  If we just want kids to be mindless clones of one another (in the knowledge since) then we simply change nothing.  However, if  we make the effort and tap into that hidden creativity then we see a much more dramtic result in education.  Suddenly it becomes a bold, new, and dynamic environment that kid want to be and want to succeed in.