More and More technology?

• Is the incorporation of a global education expensive in not only dollars but in time with the students? Teachers often complain that more and more is added onto their plates and each additional item means less time for what's important.

                For education to become effective there needs to be a limit on what is taught and to whom.  After having been thorough high school and college I have now learned that not everything I was taught in those years I use today.  I understand math is important, I get that, but the quadratic equation?  Really?  When am I ever going to use that in today’s world?  I feel that it is a long complicated process to get an answer for nothing.  Why do they want me to find the value for X, (X + Y = Z) when Y = 33 and Z = a dog playing poker!  Why not just tell us what X and Y equal and I will tell you Z’s total.  Back to technology now.  I know that many aspect of technology is important but are all?  Yes and no!  Yes because everything a computer does is helpful in its way and yes because it is our world today, computers are in everything and are everywhere.  No, because a lot of the programs do not meet everybody’s needs.  Can we teach every student individually to meet their technology needs?  Nope!  But we can teach what is needed for education purposes.  All districts have their requirements for what is needed to be taught in computers so that students can move on and graduate.  I understand that there is more and more new technology coming into our world at a rapid pace but we need to find out what programs and applications are best for the students education.  Don’t waste all this time and money on trying to incorporate new technology that will not be useful to a student.  Stick with the basics and then some on what will be best for them in their school years.  Why add more technologies to learn but less time to show them the proper way to use it.  Take one step at a time and show them what they need for the immediate future and how it will benefit them in the long run. 

Ready to work/Return to sender

1.       “Applied skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, and communication; the survey also found though that too many new entrants to the workforce are not adequately prepared in these important skills.”

                This problem that I found in the article is one that really needs to be changed.  They are huge, essential parts to having a business be successful.  If I were an educator and I had to address these issues and fix them I would incorporate a project that would cover all 3 issues.  I would have students work together as a team where each student was required to present their own part of the project.  I would give some direction but I would have them try to think and figure out where they would find their material to present. 

                As an employer I would recommend that all new hires take an onsite “team building seminar”.  This would be constructed by an employee from human resources and it would help all incoming employees understand the importance of working to together in communicating for a company to become successful.  The seminar would be held every year so that employees can brush up or improve on their skills and become a better worker in their company.

                 

2.        “Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of incoming high school graduates are viewed as deficient in basic English writing skills”

                Writing skills I feel is lacking due to the 21^st century of computers.  All computers tell us how to spell something correctly or if a sentence needs to be fragmented.  Students just click on the correct word and move on without learning how to spell that work they missed.  If I were noticing that my students were lacking in Basic English writing skills I would make a rough draft requirement for all essay type assignments.  I would have all students write out their assignments by hand before they could type it.  I would review their work and show that there are changes that need to be made.  I would have them look up words in the dictionary, fix any fragmented sentences, and have a peer proof read their work before handing in a “final rough draft”.                

                If I were an employer, I would talk to HR about employee development.  I would have all new hires take a college level course that focuses on writing and writing skills, comprehension, and critical thinking skills.  Since it would be a requirement for all new hires no one would feel singled out and all new hires would be either brushing up on old skills or learning new ones that would help them become successful in their new career.    

3.       “Concerned about the tech skills of the future workforce also emphasize the importance of information and communication technology literacy”

                A large issue today with technology in schools is that it is rarely taught.  The basics maybe taught but there are hardly any classes that go beyond just basic use.  Since today’s teachers are mostly older, they have trouble incorporating technology into their classrooms.  They do not know how to use it and frankly a lot feel that they have taught their way for many years so why change anything now.  They NEED to change it now because the world around them is changing.  Technology is everywhere and with the students now being known as “digital natives” students are expecting to have technology in their classes.  Students, I feel, learn better if there is technology involved.  They are more engaged and focused on what is being taught and they are getting a better understanding of the material because they are being taught in a way they are comfortable with.  Teaching today is not lecture and note taking; instead it is using new technology tools and having the student interact with the same technology.  Since teachers will not change their ways a lot of students are not getting the proper knowledge about computers, their software, and how to use it all in a proper manner.  So when a student is job searching out of high school and you need knowledge of some type of technology than that student is pretty low on the hire page due to his or her lack of technology savvy. 

               

4.       "Most teachers have gotten to the point where they tolerate technology, but they're not exactly sure where and how to use which technology to its best effect," Fadel says.

                It is a positive thing to know that teachers now are “tolerating” technology.  Before it would be their way or the highway type of attitude when it came to technology in the classrooms but if they are unsure where to take technology next then that is where the problem lies.  Tolerating and actually using are two totally different things.  What good is technology if the educator is unable to use it effectively to help their students learn?  I feel that there should be classes or workshops throughout all schools in all states that teach the educators how to properly use technology in their classroom.  They need to be taught how to operate the equipment correctly, how to use it for assignments, and really how to make it beneficial for the students to learn.  If all teachers understand how to use technology in their classes than their classes would be a much better place for our “digital natives” to learn. 

               

               

Blog 2: Incorporating global projects, education, and collaboration into the classroom?

• What is the general purpose and reasoning behind incorporating global projects, education, and collaboration into the classroom?

It shows your students that there is a variety of ways to becoming educated with the use of technology.  Using certain collaboration technology tools such as Skype and a computer camera, students can meet and talk with friends from around the globe.  Together they can work on an assignment with students from across the country or across the world and come up with two totally different outcomes. They could then learn different views from different countries.  This opens up a whole new chapter for both sets of classrooms that are Skyping with each other.  They could work on incorporating global projects with each other and possibly come up with a solution that could better their lives as well as others.  It could be the smallest solution but at the same time it got the students to think as one and as a group they started to make a difference in their worlds.  This type of collaboration and global projects are what teachers are hoping their students understand and know that even at their age there is a way that they can help make a change and encourage them to continue to think of new ways to better their world around them.  When students are interested in something and are having fun then they hardly think of what they are doing as educational.  Technology in the classroom is vital to all students.  When you bring technology into your classroom you’re bringing in a world of education, knowledge, and fun.  Students look forward to using technology to create something that can be their own “masterpiece” or create something that can make a difference in someone’s life.  As long as a student is engaged and having a good time putting in the hard work needed to see a difference in what they created than a student doesn’t care if it is educational, they will still do it no matter what.  Not all education is enjoyable but if you can make it enjoyable than you have the whole classrooms undivided attention, which is rare in most cases.

Video Flatteners

When watching the “World is flat” video I found it to be quite interesting.  The 10 flatteners that Friedman discussed were eye opening, especially when he talked about UPS owning almost everything!  When he started to go though each flattener and mentioned that the world was flat, I felt he was talking about everyone in the world being equal.  The taking down of the Berlin Wall and the internet boom are signs that point to people becoming equal with everyone.  Anyone can go anywhere now with the internet, I could take a tour of Ireland today and later tonight get a tour of England.  The world is at everyone’s fingertips who is able to own or get use of a computer.  The internet has grouped a wide variety of people from rich to poor, high society to lower economic, all races, religions, and cultures into one large group.  The toppling of the Berlin Wall took one country that was divided and made it whole again.  No one saw others as being lower than they were but instead as equals.  These two flatteners were thoughts that stuck in my head after watching the video.  That is what I thought of when Friedman was speaking of times that changed our lives.