Blog Post 2

"Did You Know"
I have seen this "Did You Know" video in my International Marketing class.  It is very interesting to to think of the population of India being so large that they have more honor students than we actually have kids.  The rate at which things are expanding and improving is almost scary.  It does make you feel like at some point you will get left behind if you are not constantly trying to learn new things.

This video makes me think of how hard it was to try and teach my grandmother how to email.  One day, that could be me.  Of course, by that time, I probably won't care anyway!  I can remember her calling me to tell me she sent me a picture by email and that she figured it would be there in the next few days! I just started laughing because I had already seen it and sent her a message back.  She got really confused and pretty much gave up on it.  Overall, it was a very enlightening video that makes me realize the need to continue to learn about new technologies.

"Mr. Winkle Wakes"
It's pretty ironic that they use an old man to show that schools haven't changed much.  With new technology in every aspect of your daily life, why has education remained a constant.  I suppose much of the reason is that the cost of all of this new technology is pretty high.  With the budgets that many school programs have, it would be hard for them to introduce all of the many things that people are using these days.  It is much cheaper to write about them in a book and just tell kids about them.

Many people do not get the opportunity to be around technology until they get to college, if they are fortunate enough to even get to go to college. I feel like kids these days would be much more willing to do lessons and experience the educational process if it were integrated with the way life is today.  Reading in books today is basically the same as telling a kid to make his own paper and write with ink and a feather.  There is nothing stimulating about that compared to the video games and social networking sites that they can play on at home.  If and when funds are available, I think it is very important for schools to try and upgrade to keep kids interested.

"The Importance of Creativity"
Ken Robinson is really funny! He makes a great point about teaching the creativity out of kids.  It's an interesting concept that kids are not afraid to fail, which is why they are so creative.  Education was originally set in place because of industrialism.  Schools began teaching things that would help them build things therefore they focused on the major subjects like Math, Science, History, and English.  People are scared to be creative because it wasn't valued nor focused on in schools. Certain kids are intelligent in their own ways but because of society, are forced into careers that do not show off their talents.

The value of a degree is not what it used to be.  At one point, Robinson states that somebody who used to have a degree was basically guaranteed a job.  Now, many kids are graduating and moving back in with their parents.  Masters and PhD are today what a regular college degree was in the past.  I found Mr. Robinson very entertaining and would be interested to hear him speak again.

Cecelia Gault
I feel the same as many of the things that they stated in the video and the article.  Being involved in different types of educational processes gives kids more culture.  Through technology today, kids can interact with others around the world.  Why study the history of China when you can chat with a class half way around the world and get their point of view.  It's interactive and teaches kids about culture in another nation. It also allows kids to find new and interesting ways to use the technology that is available to them.  I think to help the Cecelia Gault's of the world, we need to try and find more and more ways to get them involved, whether it be through technology, sports, or whatever it may be that they are interested in.

"Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts"
Vicki Davis is very innovative, especially for a school in South Georgia. I agree with her thoughts on empowering the students.  As a football coach, I have found that players have a much greater understanding of the concepts we install when they have to show others.  We rely on our senior leaders to help teach the underclassmen and it is exciting when you see the older guys finally realize that they know the stuff well enough to explain it.  They get excited about going to practice because they want to help others and they want to learn more.

I feel like empowering her students is just like what we do as a coaching staff here at South Alabama.  I think it would be really neat, as a class, to interact with other students from around the world.  The possibilities are endless and many of the best ideas for these technologies have not been thought of yet.