Blog Post #2

Response to "Did You Know?" 3.0 by Karl Fisch:

I was not sure what to expect when I started watching this video. At the end of the video I could not believe some of the statistics that I read. I caught myself having to back the video up on a few occasions to read the facts again due to disbelief. I now feel like Americans have this image of how things really are, but the truth is that far from this image. For example, the fact that 25% of India's population with the highest IQ is greater than the total population of the entire United States. Meaning India has more honors students than Americans have students. The very next fact in the video is that the top 10 jobs in demand this year did not exist just six years earlier.

The final question that we are left is, "What have we learned?" Well... What have we learned? I feel like the world is growing at such a rapid rate around us and we cannot keep up. Americans feel that with our ipads and touchscreen cell phones that we are at the "top of the world." Well this video proves that in fact, WE ARE NOT! Our knowledge is growing, but we have such a long way to go. There is so much out there that we have yet to discover. Many people do not realize how advance our world will be just a few short years down the road. We are preparing for a future that we really do not know what that future will be.

Response to "Mr. Winkle Wakes" by Matthew Needleman:

This video was brief and to the point which I find to be great when trying to make a point to many people. No one wants to sit and watch a half hour long video when the topic can be stated in just a few sentences. I feel that the video is a totally accurate view of the real world in every way.

After watching the video and giving it some thought I am truly shocked at how behind the education world is technologically. The world is rapidly changing around us, but in the classroom where we are shaping our future, things have not really changed. School, at its foundation, is still done the way it has been since the beginning. Yes, there are a few exceptions, but nothing close to the technological advances in almost all other areas.

Response to "Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity":

I feel like from the very beginning he sets the audience on their toes when stating that we must prepare our children for retirement 60 years from now, but we do not even know what life will be like five years from now. It really puts into perspective how rapid the world moves especially as technology advances. I really enjoy the humor throughout the speech, but honestly without the humor he would have many peoples attention. I know that he had my full attention and really had me thinking through the entirety.

Being that I am a music education major I can really relate and completely what he means when he discusses the arts in schools. I have never thought about the arts in this way before and I am totally shocked at how true this speech is. In schools today the arts programs are the first to go because they are 'not as important' as other areas such as math and reading. I feel like the world tries to be too much like each other and kids these days are not given the chance to be their true selves.

Response to "Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts":

I feel like she does a great job of incorporating technology into her classroom and her teaching. She helps the students become familiar with google and other computer programs. She explains that with technology she does not have to define every little word or topic that is discussed. If the student does not understand something they learn that the answer is at their fingertips or 'just a click away.'

I also feel that she does a great job of getting the students to be themselves. Getting them out of the classroom and connected to the world. She proves that by using technology great minds can come together from all over the world and not just the great minds in that particular classroom. She really opens up the students socially, but also opens up their minds to different cultures or ideas to any topic which in today's world is a must to be successful.