Blog Post 4

Scott Mcleod's post "Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please" was great! My position on his arguments go right along with his. I mentioned in my post to him that I'm not necessarily as passionate about using technology for teaching but that it's growing on me because of people and posts like him! I could feel his passion and intensity through the computer screen as I was reading along, and he didn't even say that much. I'm developing this passion slowly but surely and even though it will probably be an infinite growth I'm willing to accept it with open arms! Scott McLeod was surprisingly an Associate Professor in the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University. He also is the Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, and was a co-creator of the wildly popular video, Did You Know? (Shift Happens). He has a bunch of awards for his technology brilliance and everything he has contributed to technology and learning and funding etc. and so forth. In Spring 2011 he will be a Visiting Canterbury Fellow at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Dr. McLeod seems like a very exuberant, creative, innovative, passionate, and ingenious man who I am proud to say I learned some good tips from.
The "iSchool Initiative" was a pretty sweet video by a high school student who also shares a similar passion for increasing technology in school systems. It was a pretty overwhelming video but very informative on how much we can do with the technology today and how it can SAVE MONEY! Hearing about that part was my favorite because it truly does seem realistic that after purchasing all that technology, it would save money used from natural resources, time and effort. The easy accessibility was another part I liked because it showed how everything from the National Constitution, to parents' being able to track their child's progress and stuff like that, can be right at your fingertips! Love it! I'm a proud supporter of this kid and all the success I'm sure will follow him!
"The Lost Generation" has been my favorite video yet! Starting off by capturing you with the depressing sentences being read, it is definately an eye opener. Then once you're in it the speaker turns it around by reading it backwards, leading you to a completely different meaning! The concept was unbelievable, how they read the exact same sentences while at the same time giving you a totally opposite meaning than the first go round! Totally captivating, enticing, and enthralling I loved spending my time watching that one!
My reaction to the Virtual Choir is still full of questions. Did one person send out a mass email with explicit instructions on how to go about doing this or is it all just random people that made videos of themselves singing? Are they all singing the same tune/key or humming the same thing? I'm so confused but regardless it was neat to see all the possibilities of virtuality.
"Teaching in the 21st Century" was an interesting video as well. How do I feel about the positions expressed in this video? Well, I feel very grateful to have encountered these questions and concerns and for them to have been brought to my attention. I agree with there being virtually limitless information, so we must teach children how to properly use the internet. Because believe it or not, I was never exactly taught how to google, etc. I think my friends showed me and I just kind of picked it up along the way. Teaching them to properly ask the right questions for research, and what to search for, using the tools in engaging ways instead of solely for entertainment, is crucial. From this video it was crystal clear what to take with me and always ask: "What Does It Mean?!"