Blog Post #2

Mr. Dancealot

 

In the movie "Mr. Dancealot", the Professor attempts to teach a dance class without any physical method of teaching. The central message in the movie is focused on methods of teaching that are interesting while also being fun. But also, how can you teach a dance class when you never dance? How can you teach any class without practicing what you are learning about? Haven't you heard the saying "practice makes perfect"? Well, I believe that "practice improves performance" is a better way of saying it. The author's conclusion made perfect sense to me. Professor Dancealot turned on a video camera, told the students to dance, and left the room. The Professor did not stay in the room to help the students improve their dancing nor was he there to help fix any problems that the students may have. The man at the end of the movie Mr. Dancealot said, "I thought I got it from what he said in class, but none of my notes make any sense." I agree with the conclusion, because I believe that just lecturing and not making the class active and entertaining leaves the students confused, bored, and they also retain less information. Teachers have to be involved in their students learning in a variety of ways in order for everyone to fully understand the purpose in learning a new subject.

Outline to Teaching in 21st Century
 

• Teachers are no longer the main source of knowledge.
• How to teach students how to handle these resources.
• What should curriculum be focused on?
• What tools can students use to further their success in the classroom?
• How to manage technology in the classroom.
• Students must be engaged.

I agree with Kevin Roberts' movie Teaching in 21st Century, because I have the same beliefs and also because he had many facts to support his statements. Teachers are no longer the main source of knowledge due to the rapid advance in technology. Technology is what I believe will affect me the most as a teacher. There are things that I am still learning about technology and it scary to think that I will be incorporating technology into my classroom someday. I have much left to learn about technology, but as a teacher it is my duty to give children all the knowledge that I have, and that is what I will do.

 

The Networked Student

 

In The Networked Student, the main question asked is "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?". The answer is simple. If the networked student dives into technology without having any knowledge about it, the student could potentially make the wrong decisions in articles he or she chooses or group he or she decides to join. The teacher is there to guide and inform the student on the right way to perform the tasks and get the information he or she needs through technology. There are rights and wrongs to technology just like there are rights and wrongs in the classroom. Computers are a virtual classroom and students must be monitored like they would be in a classroom. I really enjoyed this video, because it relates to me EDM 310 class, and it helped me see why we are only using technology in my class.

 

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

 

Vicki Davis' video, Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts, she explains that teachers should not think that they should know everything before they begin to teach a subject. Vicki's class actually taught Vicki how to terraform on their virtual world with their avatars that they created online. I agree with some of Vicki's thoughts on teaching in her classroom, but others I do not fully understand. Vicki lets her students learn key terms on their own by using Google, I do not think this is an effective way of learning, because students need guidance. Overall, I think Vicki Davis is engaging her students in a very effective way!

 

Who's Ahead in the Learning Race?

 

After watching Dr. John Strange's video, Who's Ahead in the Learning Race?, I now believe that younger children are ahead in the learning race. There are many children who are eager to learn mostly anything, and they love to teach themselves. Hand a child a computer and they will automatically start clicking buttons, but hand one to a college student and he or she is hesitant to touch it for fear of messing up or breaking the computer. I am an Undergraduate at South Alabama and this is how I think: I am terrified of anything that is new to me. Although I am afraid of new things, I try them anyways, but I am always hesitant to start on my own.

 

Flipping the Classroom

 

Flipping a classroom is not a new term to me. My little sister came to me one day and said, "Emily, my teacher put a problem on the board that I had never seen before, and she made my friend go to the board and try to solve it without knowing what to do." To me, that is a little extreme. I like the approach that the video Flipping the Classroom explains. The teacher in the video explains that the student will attempt their homework at home after watching recordings of their teacher explaining how to do their work. This, to me, is an effective way of getting the students to engage in their learning, but the way that my sister's teacher chose to do class was not at all effective.