Blog # 2

Professor Dancealot: I believe the central message of this video is that you can give lectures and power points every class session, but if you do not get the students involved and active they will both lose focus in class and also learn practically nothing, a break in the line of communication you could say. The way the author proves this is by having a dance class where the teacher gives lectures and does not let the students even attempt to practice the dance moves in class but expects them to be expert dancers for the final. I agree with the conclusion that you need to have students active in class in order to properly teach them and to keep their attention because I myself am a student and have experienced both boring power point lecture classes, and active student involved classes. I can say without a doubt that I learned and retained more information in the classes where the students where involved then sitting in the desk all day listening to the teacher ramble off of the power points.

Teaching in the 21st Century: I believe Roberts argument about teaching in the 21st century is that teachers can no longer use just paper and pencil and need to move on to teaching kids how to use technology the correct for them to excel in school, how to figure things out for themselves while citing the sources they used. I believe Roberts view on teaching could be beneficial but full immersion of students into technology would make them more dependent on it then they already are. Paper and pencil should no disappear completely because it makes students more have to actually learn the material instead of constantly using Google to find the answer. Becoming fully dependent on technology is not a good thing in my eyes. I believe technology should be used a lot more the nit is now in the school system but it should not overtake the entire curriculum.

The Networked Student: All of the networking tools available for a student is amazing and can really promote a students learning in school. Like I have said earlier in this blog, I think technology should be used but not overtake the curriculum. I like the idea of the students in classroom for a few days then in their own personal digital classroom for another few days. It is a good balance for kids to become more independent while still under the guidance of the teacher.Out of all the videos watched, I enjoyed this style of education the best. Also this style of teaching requires each teacher to become very proficient at using the web and other tools that the students will be using. That will ultimately raise the demand for teachers increasing the pay grade for teachers since there is more requirements to become one, and who doesn't like money?

Harness Hour Students Digital Smarts: The thesis of the video is that with the advancement of technology in today's society, the school system cannot just stick with the paper and pencil system that has been used for years. My reaction to the video is that I completely agree. She has the students looking things up for themselves and even teaching each other with the teacher over watching the entire classroom is a great hands now learning environment for the students the strive in. I believe that this type of teaching should be welcomed by all schools in the country at any grade level. That with this type of new learning environment the students will stay active as well as learn so much easier and quicker.

Flipping the Classroom: Flipping the classroom is a brand new concept to me, I have never heard of it before. I beleive this approach could have extraordinay improvements on students grades and over scholastics. The only down side I see about it is if you have a student who is very uninterested in a certain subject, to just skip the videos and come to class and be quiet. If there was some type of interactive video like questions the students have to click to show they are participating as a grade then I believe it would be near perfect.