Education Leadership's article, "Rigor Redefined", written by Tony Wagner talked about how our students today are learning. How school's aren't fully preparing students for the future and it showed various things a student should be learning.
Starting off the article, Wagner said, "Even our "best" schools are failing to prepare students for 21st-century careers and citizenship.” What does it mean when even our “best” schools can’t teach our students what they need to know? It means we should start changing how and what we teach students. The article gave seven skills that students should be learning for the future: critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration and leadership, agility and adaptability, initiative and entrepreneurialism, effective oral and written communication, accessing and analyzing information, and curiosity and imagination. Instead of always teaching students what they need to know on tests, they should be taught skills needed to face the 21st-century. Getting schools to reach this point of teaching may take a lot of changes and new ideas but if done, all students would be much more prepared for what is to come.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The Machine (Us)
Michael Wesch’s video, “Web 2.0 … The machine is Us/ing Us“ was interesting. It explained, described, and showed the Web 2.0 today. How it works and how it’s changing. It told how we are the Web 2.0.
Ever since the internet was created we have being modifying it and creating it in to the Web 2.0 we know today. We create websites, put up videos, pictures, create accounts, and more. As time goes on we teach “the machine” more and more; how to do things easier and more efficient. The video shows us that we are the machine. We make up and form the Web 2.0. It’s all of us linking and joining together in tons of ways. While more people are using the web more often, don’t you wonder if it’s always a good thing? Yes, it’s easier but at what point will technology become too much a part of our lives? Will having this easy, efficient way of doing things make us lazy? Maybe, but this won’t stop people from working on it. The Web 2.0 is changing the world or you could say WE are changing the world.
Ever since the internet was created we have being modifying it and creating it in to the Web 2.0 we know today. We create websites, put up videos, pictures, create accounts, and more. As time goes on we teach “the machine” more and more; how to do things easier and more efficient. The video shows us that we are the machine. We make up and form the Web 2.0. It’s all of us linking and joining together in tons of ways. While more people are using the web more often, don’t you wonder if it’s always a good thing? Yes, it’s easier but at what point will technology become too much a part of our lives? Will having this easy, efficient way of doing things make us lazy? Maybe, but this won’t stop people from working on it. The Web 2.0 is changing the world or you could say WE are changing the world.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Bullying
The article, "Gay Teens' New Champion Opens Up" by Claire Howorth was pretty moving. It spoke about how Joel Burns went to a community board meeting and talked about the increasing suicides of teens. His speech was filmed and put on youtube eventually earning millions of hits.
Watching and reading this was extremely upset; it made me have A LOT to say. These kids are pushed in to suicide for simply being different. I'm sure they didn't even really think about it much, just that people saw them as "wrong". This is only about being made fun of for being gay it’s about all the bullying! Kids are called names, told to go to hell, or to go die. It makes me sick. Kids honestly don’t know how much they're hurting someone. So you would think once teens and children saw things like this video, our problems would be solved. But there not and I think this problem is very out of control and will be hard to get in control again.
Kids have been being bullied and made fun of since forever but over the years it's gotten much worse. It's our fault kids are now thinking suicide is the only choice. We're the ones that didn't really try and solve bullying until not too long ago. School's are now starting programs on how to deal with bullying but only because it's gotten so bad! Where was this 30-40 years ago? Maybe we could have stopped bullying then so it wouldn't be causing all these deaths now. Obviously we have procrastinated. Even so, there's nothing we can do about the past so we'll just have to work twice as hard to fix this.
Maybe if all kids could be open to a change and understanding we could change this but we’ll just have to see.
Watching and reading this was extremely upset; it made me have A LOT to say. These kids are pushed in to suicide for simply being different. I'm sure they didn't even really think about it much, just that people saw them as "wrong". This is only about being made fun of for being gay it’s about all the bullying! Kids are called names, told to go to hell, or to go die. It makes me sick. Kids honestly don’t know how much they're hurting someone. So you would think once teens and children saw things like this video, our problems would be solved. But there not and I think this problem is very out of control and will be hard to get in control again.
Kids have been being bullied and made fun of since forever but over the years it's gotten much worse. It's our fault kids are now thinking suicide is the only choice. We're the ones that didn't really try and solve bullying until not too long ago. School's are now starting programs on how to deal with bullying but only because it's gotten so bad! Where was this 30-40 years ago? Maybe we could have stopped bullying then so it wouldn't be causing all these deaths now. Obviously we have procrastinated. Even so, there's nothing we can do about the past so we'll just have to work twice as hard to fix this.
Maybe if all kids could be open to a change and understanding we could change this but we’ll just have to see.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Restaurants Improve
More talk of how technology is changing our lives in CBS News’ article, “Turning to Twitter to Fix Restaurant Complaints”. The article talks about how people tweet about an eating facility and restaurants are beginning to respond to these tweets. Restaurants will read the Tweets and comment them, saying their trying to fix the problem or in Graham Elliot’s case, he “publicly humiliates” them. This is just another way of how people are using technology more and more.
An example of restaurants responding to their customers is when Dennis Yslas tweeted about how Chipotle had a lack of corn tortillas. Chipotle instantly replied saying they had already called and talked to the manager about the issue before Ylas had even left. Honestly, I think a restaurant responding to people’s tweets is a great idea. Most customers would like knowing that someone is listening to them and trying to help them out. It would give the restaurants more business because people would want to come back! This shows how things are becoming more efficient with the use of technology. As we keep making and creating new technology things seem much less of a hassle. So why are people always so worried about how much we use technology? I have heard mostly positives on the subject. Hopefully technology keeps taking a path toward success.
An example of restaurants responding to their customers is when Dennis Yslas tweeted about how Chipotle had a lack of corn tortillas. Chipotle instantly replied saying they had already called and talked to the manager about the issue before Ylas had even left. Honestly, I think a restaurant responding to people’s tweets is a great idea. Most customers would like knowing that someone is listening to them and trying to help them out. It would give the restaurants more business because people would want to come back! This shows how things are becoming more efficient with the use of technology. As we keep making and creating new technology things seem much less of a hassle. So why are people always so worried about how much we use technology? I have heard mostly positives on the subject. Hopefully technology keeps taking a path toward success.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Good or Bad?
After reading “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr I didn’t take one side or the other. Nicholas thinks that with all the internet usage, we are becoming dumb. We aren’t able to focus or concentrate on long articles like people use to be able to. Now we simply take 10 minutes to find information instead of a trip to the library. Many other people are beginning to agree with this, so the question comes to mind, is technology more of a good or bad thing?
Throughout the article Carr constantly repeated how his ability to read long articles has slowly decreased. His reason for this is regular use of the internet. We have started to just skim articles online not actually reading them thoroughly. I think this is an example of many of how technology and the internet have made us lazier. He says he use to be able to concentrate on long articles, while I never really have. It’s always been difficult for me to stay focused on an informational writing for a long time. Is this because I was born in to a technology world? Has growing up and being raised surrounded by cell phones and computers done this? Maybe. While technology may be making us lazier and not able to read long articles I think it also has a good effect on the world. Without it I feel things would be so much more difficult. Yes, we use to live without any of this but now we do and it’s what I know and how I live. I think the controversy on technology will go on for years but that won’t stop the human race from wanting to move forward, making life “easier” as we’ve always done!
Throughout the article Carr constantly repeated how his ability to read long articles has slowly decreased. His reason for this is regular use of the internet. We have started to just skim articles online not actually reading them thoroughly. I think this is an example of many of how technology and the internet have made us lazier. He says he use to be able to concentrate on long articles, while I never really have. It’s always been difficult for me to stay focused on an informational writing for a long time. Is this because I was born in to a technology world? Has growing up and being raised surrounded by cell phones and computers done this? Maybe. While technology may be making us lazier and not able to read long articles I think it also has a good effect on the world. Without it I feel things would be so much more difficult. Yes, we use to live without any of this but now we do and it’s what I know and how I live. I think the controversy on technology will go on for years but that won’t stop the human race from wanting to move forward, making life “easier” as we’ve always done!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Different
Article from CBS News, “Iranian Woman Could Be Stoned Soon, Lawyer Warns” was very disturbing and it made me think, why are they like that? A woman in Iran was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery but it was recently delayed. While being delayed she was also sentenced to 99 lashes for a picture of an unveiled woman mistakenly identified as her. Now she has been missing, not even her family knowing where she is, since early August.
When comparing the United States and Iran, it leaves you aghast. We are so different! To us, their ways almost seem barbaric but to them, it’s how it’s always been. Why is it that we have decided against torturing people as punishments while they are still stoning and lashing people? We are both the same species, human, but how come we think so different? After reading this article I was stunned how actions like this actually take place. Yes, I’ve seen movies and read about it in books but I haven’t actually read a true article on it. It just shows how you are raised, really effects you; how you act, your personality, what you like, what you believe in. The big question I still have is: what has happened or have we done that causes us to think so differently? This also proves how we humans are all so different.
When comparing the United States and Iran, it leaves you aghast. We are so different! To us, their ways almost seem barbaric but to them, it’s how it’s always been. Why is it that we have decided against torturing people as punishments while they are still stoning and lashing people? We are both the same species, human, but how come we think so different? After reading this article I was stunned how actions like this actually take place. Yes, I’ve seen movies and read about it in books but I haven’t actually read a true article on it. It just shows how you are raised, really effects you; how you act, your personality, what you like, what you believe in. The big question I still have is: what has happened or have we done that causes us to think so differently? This also proves how we humans are all so different.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Learning In the Twentieth Century
Michael Wesch's video, "A Vision of Students Today" was very fascinating. It's about the students in today's world!It showed how students learn, what they want to learn and do, and what it's all like for them. We all know millions of kids go to school but what is it really like for them and what are they like?
After watching this video i had to re watch it a few times to really understand it. It makes you wonder, is everything we're learning really important to us? Will all the information taught help us at all in the future, or is it useless fun facts? Yes, i know finishing high school and going to college is a must but the video made me wonder if it's ever too much. Being human i need time to eat, sleep, socialize, etc. While i also have to go to school, write papers, read, study, do sports, and be with family. The video also talked about how some people in the world have it a lot worse than us. It said, "Over one billion people make less than $1 a day." This makes you realize going to school and getting an education is a privilege. It may be a lot of work but it's not something to be taken for granted.
After watching this video i had to re watch it a few times to really understand it. It makes you wonder, is everything we're learning really important to us? Will all the information taught help us at all in the future, or is it useless fun facts? Yes, i know finishing high school and going to college is a must but the video made me wonder if it's ever too much. Being human i need time to eat, sleep, socialize, etc. While i also have to go to school, write papers, read, study, do sports, and be with family. The video also talked about how some people in the world have it a lot worse than us. It said, "Over one billion people make less than $1 a day." This makes you realize going to school and getting an education is a privilege. It may be a lot of work but it's not something to be taken for granted.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)