Blog Assignment #4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?

Link To Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff

Dr. Scott McLeod created this post and is a professor at Iowa State University. He blogs regularly at dangerouslyirrelevant.org and is the Director of the UCEA which is dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators. You can find his bio at http://scottmcleod.net/bio/

This blog discusses the cons of technology within our children's grasp. The author argues that we should not allow kids to have computers or cell phones to collaborate due to cyber bullying, sexting, cheating etc. These are all concerns that parents should have, but if we can occupy their minds with something else for the majority of their days this can be limited. We can also monitor the usage of technology or do what the author say's and remove these gadgets. I agree that if they have access to such gadgets that they may engage in these evil doings.

We are the adults and have a better feel for responsibility when it comes to these sorts of things. If the child abuses these gifts then he or she should no longer be able to have them. Moderation is a factor with anything that we do and we need to constantly remind them that technology is a gift and privilege and should not be abused. Integration of these gadgets is more of a sound idea at home and in the classroom. No we cannot control everything, but we can prepare mentally and physically in advance to limit their usage only for good.



I enjoy feedback and love to debate. So, if you have anything you would like to add to my comments, you are more than welcome. Remember that you are on MY blog and these are MY opinions.

The iSchool Initiative


The iSchool seems like a great way to cut back and I understand his concerns with growing classrooms. We will never know what will happen with this sort of thing unless we try it out first. Obviously the word initiative in this video's title explains that. It is new and I am sure the kinks will have to be worked out in order to be successful in the classroom. I do not necessarily think this Phone should take over the learning process, but be implemented and used as a way to save a little bit of school cash. It sounds like a great idea, but do not let this take full priority as a means of learning.

The process by which this is undertaken may take some time and very well may waste precious time learning how to do all of the tasks he poses. I certainly do not think all students know how to use an iphone. But, whether this already exists or is actually happening I think it's certainly worth trying. How do we know if something works or not? Someone tells us and we believe them or we learn through experience.

The Lost Generation


I was definitely more focused on how this was read forward and backward. An awesome way to change something from negative to positive. When you listen to it read forward, it is all negative, but then she reads from the end back toward the beginning; it is all positive and it was definitely well thought out.

She writes how society tells us that family is becoming less important and she that her work will take priority. She will be divorced in twenty years and the people of her era are destroying the environment. These are just some of the things she is worried about but she is hopeful that she, as well as everyone else, can reverse its path.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
Link to Virtual Choir

What a group a singers! There is one huge screen and tiny picture in picture views of 185 people in the virtual choir. I am almost speechless and ready to end my post. You just have to watch it for yourself. It looks like something you would see in a movie dated 100 years in the future. This is a great view of what could certainly happen to classrooms or any venue for that matter. The people were all chillin' in their rooms at home singing to a webcam. This is a great depiction of what we may see in the future.

Teaching In the 21st Century


I never had my teacher discuss credit cards with me, nor did I ever ask them. Some of the questions are a little off the wall but I can see where the problem solving issue comes in. I understand the author's idea that we need to be engaged within their technology and help them solve problems that a computer cannot help them face. They can get an answer wherever and whenever they want but can they decide on which credit card to get if they don't know which one is best. Sending them to the proper sites that are reliable sources of information is very important. Regardless of the things they are learning in the classroom they are still going home and using their computer and/or cell phone. So is he asking me if I have an obligation as an educator to pose these questions to my students? Problem solving through the computer is very important simply because if they click a button they are going to believe whatever they read or hear. Educating as a filter between the student and their device is very important today since I seem to continue seeing 8 year olds running around with iphones.

Computers are no longer used as just a form of entertainment. They can be used properly to engage students within the classroom and can be used within lessons as long as they are relevant. I understand we are trying to get rid of burp back education and move toward analyzation, reflection and creation of work but this can only be achieved through a new wave of teaching. A mass of new teachers throwing out new ideas would be fabulous too.