Blog Post 2: Changes in the Classroom

Mr. Dancealot

In this video you can see so many things wrong with the way this teacher is teaching his class. This video represents how some teachers think it is okay to teach now and it also shows how it is very ineffective. The author of the video shows this ineffectiveness by how the students react to the final exam. After a semester of nothing but bad power points and notes they do not even understand, they have no idea how to do the things the teacher acts of them. As a student, I agree with the conclusion of this video. When students are taught only by sitting and listening to lectures they will almost always miss some of what they really need to be learning. Interaction is a very important key factor in learning.

Teaching in the 21st Century

I think the main message of this video is that teaching in the 21st century is changing into an all technology based environment. While watching this video I can not help but find myself feeling sad for future "technology based" students. Even though the times have changed and technology is a must for students, I can see where this might make students become too dependent on it. If a student becomes too dependent on technology it could make them lazy or never worrying if he or she knows something or not because all they have to do is look it up online.

The Networked Student

My reaction to this video is very back and forth. Sometimes I think this plan of students basically teaching themselves is great but also I think it lacks a few important factors. For students at college level and above this idea is very practical, most college students have some sort of job and social life and this program would work well with their schedules. For students at high school level and below though, I have a few concerns. I think this idea has no human social interaction which is vital especially for younger developing students.The only reason I see a need for a teacher is to answer questions and grade their work.

Harness Your Students Digital Smarts

In this video I can really see Vicki Davis's enthusiasm and hope for the digital classroom. My reaction to this video was much different than my reactions to the other videos. While watching this video Vicki made me feel like there still can be communication and interaction between the students and teachers while also being technology based. When it comes to teachers and technology based classrooms it is very important to me that the teachers remember to stay connected to her students individually and not just connected to technology, and I think that is what the challenge for future teachers will be.

Flipping the Classroom

"Flipping" the classroom is new to me, in my elementary through high school years I went to a public school that was very low on funds and technology was very little. I think this is a great approach at teaching, especially for elementary and middle school ages. I feel that this method would help teachers be able to focus more one on one time with each student instead of standing in front of the class explaining so much. I think the only problem with this program would be with high school age students because they would be harder to get to watch the lessons every night.