Blog Post 2. What Will Teaching In The 21st Century Be Like?

  When I have a job as a teacher, I know I will not be able to teach my students the same way I was taught. The days of blackboards and overhead projectors are long gone! To keep up with students, I will have to teach them with current technology and I will need to understand how use it properly.

  In the video "Mr. Dancealot", the central message of the video is that if students aren't able to actually see apply what they're being taught, they will never learn the subject. None of the students in the dance class could see the instructor's feet movement or were given time in class to practice and learn. This resulted in no one knowing what to do during the final exam. I agree with his conclusion. Students need clear instruction and application to understand the concept being taught.

  In "Teaching In The 21st Century" ,Roberts says that it is better to create then to simply memorize. The whole point is that teachers are no longer the main source for knowledge, because facts can be found anywhere. Instead, educators are the filter which knowledge is passed through in the classroom. Teachers are needed to educate student on how to analyze facts and how to apply those facts. A great resource is an article called "Rethinking the Way College Students Are Taught" (http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/tomorrows-college/lectures/rethinking-teaching.html) by Emily Hanford. In both the article and the video, it is agreed that with modern technology, if teachers are only lecturing, then they aren't doing much good for the students. I completely agree with the whole video. As an educator I will need to show students a practical use of information rather than just burping back information.

  In the video "The Networked Student", the speaker asks "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?". After watching, I understood that the speaker's answer was spot on. Sure, students can find any information they want on their own, but a teacher is still needed. The teacher is there to offer guidance, communication, and differentiate between good and bad resources.

  In "Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts", Vicki Davis' main goal is to make sure every student is comfortable when using every form of technology. I agree that this is necessary. In today's society, and in the future, technology makes the world go round. Her students are learning through application, interaction with classmates and students around the world, and self teaching.

  In the video "Who’s Ahead in the Learning Race?" , the question is asked "Who’s Ahead in the Learning Race?". According to Dr. Strange, elementary is a great deal ahead in the education race. Elementary is ahead of undergrad and grad students in : google forms, google docs, driving questions, QR's, rubrics, etc. When I was in elementary school, we were never given any technological opportunities. I believe introducing technology at such a young age will help these students to excell in our technology based world.

  As I watch "Flipping the classroom", I'm rather astonished. Flipping is a concept I've never heard of before. I do believe this approach will help me as a teacher. Students will come to class with a basic knowledge of what is going to be covered that day. Because this is done, teachers can jump straight into actually teaching the information.

  Reviewing all of these videos has opened my eyes as to how future generations will be taught, and how I need to be prepared to teach. As i said previously, the days of blackboards and overhead projectors are long gone!