I just watched Ken Robinson's video on Creativity. The first thing that caught my attention was when he said our beginning learners today will retire around 2065. Our world is vastly changing and we don't know what the future holds for us in the next 5 years even, yet we are supposed to educated for it. I like the fact that he said that children have so many talents and creative minds, yet schools seem to squash and/or ignore these skills. I think it is very important that creativity be included in almost all aspects of education because I think it is a key to helping the individual child learn. I laughed when Ken Robinson told the story about the little girl drawing God and how she said "in a minute they will" know what God looks like. The little girl wasn't afraid to be wrong and I think that is something that too many children fear in the schools today. Like he said, that when children are afraid to be wrong they lose their originality in creativity.
I definitely think this is true because when I was younger, I never had a problem being creative. My school projects from elementary school all seem to have a lot more color and creativity in them than they did in high school. I could play dolls or house with a friend for hours when I was younger, but now it seems we don't do that in fear that we will look 'stupid' or say something wrong. I thought it was very interesting that Robinson stated that we stop using children's bodies from the waist down, then as time goes on we only use their heads. I think he means that we are only supposed to be using our heads, instead of our whole bodies, with education. Using our bodies would mean we would have to be more creative in thinking, and I believe using dance, music, or PBL in the classroom would open up the minds of learners.
Overall, I really enjoyed this video. I found Robinson to be very amusing and insightful
Monday, October 24, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Mr. Winkle Wakes
Hello Bloggers!
I just watched the YouTube video "Mr. Winkle Wakes" and I thought the video was very cute. This short video is about a little old man who seems to have just awoken from an 100 year sleep. He adventures out into the world in which we live in now and is fascinated (and somewhat scared) with all the noises and machines that our society is constantly using. He sees laptops, computers, and hospital machines all for the first time. Yet, when he walks into a classroom, he sees the familiarity and comfort of a teacher teaching her students without any technology.
Mr. Winkle must have walked into a very old school if he believes that schools are the same way they were 100 years ago. Almost all classrooms today have some sort of technology in them. Whether it be a computer, projector, smart-board, or even an audio tape. Even during college classes where the professor lectures the whole time without using the projector or computer, he would still find students that use their laptops to take notes(that is, if the teacher allows laptops during lecture). Professors no longer accept hand-written papers and having internet access is almost always required. The truth is, technology surrounds us everywhere we go, including educational environments.
Makes you think, though, how will schools be 100 years from now???
-Mallory
I just watched the YouTube video "Mr. Winkle Wakes" and I thought the video was very cute. This short video is about a little old man who seems to have just awoken from an 100 year sleep. He adventures out into the world in which we live in now and is fascinated (and somewhat scared) with all the noises and machines that our society is constantly using. He sees laptops, computers, and hospital machines all for the first time. Yet, when he walks into a classroom, he sees the familiarity and comfort of a teacher teaching her students without any technology.
Mr. Winkle must have walked into a very old school if he believes that schools are the same way they were 100 years ago. Almost all classrooms today have some sort of technology in them. Whether it be a computer, projector, smart-board, or even an audio tape. Even during college classes where the professor lectures the whole time without using the projector or computer, he would still find students that use their laptops to take notes(that is, if the teacher allows laptops during lecture). Professors no longer accept hand-written papers and having internet access is almost always required. The truth is, technology surrounds us everywhere we go, including educational environments.
Makes you think, though, how will schools be 100 years from now???
-Mallory
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Porta-what?
Hi Followers!
I just finished doing my first Portaportal.I had never heard of a Portaportal before but I believe that this tool is definitely something I could and will use in the classroom during my future teaching career. I could not only use it for personal use, but students could benefit from it, as well. Using a Portaportal is a great tool for creating lesson plans. Instead of having to either write down or bookmark five different websites for a unit, a teacher could put all the links in the Portaportal and have easy access to them at all times. They could also add the link to the online state standards for that unit plan. Students could use them to organize references for citations, projects, etc. The teacher could possibly create more than one portaportal and have one for her students to have access to. It could have links to online encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses.
This tool could improve a student's learning in several ways. The student could revisit websites that they put on their portaportal and use them for future assignments. Instead of throwing all their references away, they have it all stored in one location. This tool is great, too, because it is simple and easy to use.
I'm glad I am now aware of this tool...it will come in handy!!
Mallory
I just finished doing my first Portaportal.I had never heard of a Portaportal before but I believe that this tool is definitely something I could and will use in the classroom during my future teaching career. I could not only use it for personal use, but students could benefit from it, as well. Using a Portaportal is a great tool for creating lesson plans. Instead of having to either write down or bookmark five different websites for a unit, a teacher could put all the links in the Portaportal and have easy access to them at all times. They could also add the link to the online state standards for that unit plan. Students could use them to organize references for citations, projects, etc. The teacher could possibly create more than one portaportal and have one for her students to have access to. It could have links to online encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses.
This tool could improve a student's learning in several ways. The student could revisit websites that they put on their portaportal and use them for future assignments. Instead of throwing all their references away, they have it all stored in one location. This tool is great, too, because it is simple and easy to use.
I'm glad I am now aware of this tool...it will come in handy!!
Mallory
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