Blog Post #2

Did You Know?

     The video "Did You Know" by John Strange was very factual. It amazes me how much technology has improved since it was first invented. In the video, Strange states that 48 hours worth of YouTube videos are downloaded every minute! Also, that in one minute 11,491,629 SMS messages are sent world wide.These two facts alone are eye opening. Technology has become the main focus of human living and in future years it will become almost impossible not to have technology all around us. From computers to cellphones, people world wide should be taught accurately and efficiently how to control and operate any technological device.

     In the video, Strange emphasizes that English-speaking Chinese will soon outnumber the native speaking English! This fact alone is quite scary. I'm not quite sure how the Chinese learn English whether it's in school or through technology, but the Americans really need to step their game up. We have all of this technology and we need to put it to use! Americans have become ridiculously lazy over the years and I'm not sure why. I don't know if it's because we have technology to do things for us or we just don't care to learn how to learn things on our own, but it is really hurting where we stand in the world. 25% of India is already smarter than the entire United States according to the video. That is quite embarrassing.

     Another good aspect of the video was the point about jobs. Strange emphasized that the top jobs we will have 10 years from now don't even exist yet. We need to use technology to prepare for these jobs since it is practically taking over the world. Next thing you know we will have robots as maids just like in those futuristic movies! Get fluent in working with technology now so you won't be behind in the future.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

     In the video Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman, schools are not the same as they are now. The high school I went to now has a computer for every student, smart boards in classrooms, and televisions everywhere. In the school Mr. Winkles went  to, there were desks in a line and students were taught threw taking notes and learning from a teacher. In the future, there honestly might not even be a need for teachers because of how advanced technology is becoming. Students could just watch videos everyday and print out notes instead of listening to a teacher lecture and have to write pages of notes. Scary thought, but it could become true.

     Another point in the video is the technology used in businesses and in hospitals. There are more ill people surviving now than there were 20 years ago because of the technology we have. For example, oxygen tanks, lasers, and x-ray machines have become extremely beneficial over the years. In businesses, people can expand their profits world wide because of Skype and cell phones. They can communicate oversees by visually interacting with one another on a computer screen. Incredible if you ask me! Technology plays a major role in our lives today.

TED Video

     Ken Robinson is a very smart man. He believes that educators now have to prepare children for what will be in the future which we do not know of. The unpredictability is extraordinary but yet we must teach them what we know they must have knowledge of for them to be successful such as numbers and letters. Robinson also elaborates that creativity is as important as literacy. Children are not afraid to be wrong and will take chances. This fact is key in being creative, yet he believes schools are taking creativity our of education because they are not allowing mistakes to be made.

    Schools focus more on reading, writing, and arithmetic rather than music, art, and dance. Which pretty much is just getting us ready for the university level of education. Now days, people do not necessarily need a degree to get a job, all they need is determination, creativity, and common sense. Robinson defines creativity as a the process of having original ideas that have value. This idea of creativity is probably what sparked the inventors of technology today. Without creativity in people would not have thought outside of the box and invented something they envisioned in their mind. I do agree with Robinson that creativity should be more expressed in schools. You never know what some people could create and do when they use their creative side of their brain.

Pinterest!

     I think Pinterest is an amazing way to express one's creativity and it also shows many useful ideas from other people. Pinterest could be useful to me by seeing all of the different classroom decoration ideas people have up and the creative techniques people have posted to educate students. Lesson plans, the organization of it, and student use are some of the ways Pinterest could be beneficial. There are many different ways to teach the basic subjects in school, but with Pinterest you can find creative ways to teach from other teachers whom have a Pinterest. There are several folders, documents, and images used when you are a teacher and Pinterest can help to organize all of those items because it has different "boards" you can chose from when you want to remember a certain resource. Students can also benefit from Pinterest. For example, if they have a group project to do, they can create a certain board and collaborate all of their ideas together in that specific board. I plan on using Pinterest for all of my teaching techniques and decorations when I finally become a professional.