Fish reaction

I think what lies at the root of the problem Fish is having deals with the fact that teachers, for the most part, have the attitude and thought process that it is okay to teach how they themselves were taught. Teachers think they know a lot, because they have had so much education, in the past. Well, teaching isn't about what is past, it's about what is to come. Teaching and learning go hand in hand; Things that one has learned in the past only is useful when applying this knowledge to learning more and adapting. Experience equals learning and everyday experience is always changing and creating avenues to learning, these avenues have to be facilitated and maintained. As far as teaching educators is concerned, there must be a mandatory teachers' network in which all teachers are required to participate or contribute, whatever it may be. The ways in which we think about things and the world have changed and are changing every day, it makes sense that learning would and should follow along with these changes.

Reaction to Kelly Hines

What I take to be the key points of the Hines post is: Teachers need to be learners, not only adapting to technology, but also how children are learning and relating as a result of technology, and, teachers need to be taught how to do this. It really isn't about the technology; its about the students. Its about the institution of education becoming more user friendly. Its about changing the ways in which we are educating the educators. Its about relationships; involving how students relate to the modern world, how teachers relate to the modern world, and how teachers and students relate to one another, in the modern world. People learn differently, and there are many ways to learn, but being able to relate to material is essential to the learning process and should be the focus of every educator.

Wesh; students today

This video is a great example of how technology is relevant today and why it should be made relevant in education. The opening with the freshman college student walking into class for the first time reminded me of my own experiences; I went from a high school graduating class of 140 to a freshman biology class of 450. I know I can't speak for that entire class, but I learn by asking questions and making connections, how is that possible in a class of 450? That class seriously affected my college experience and what I set out to experience in college; I went from wanting to be a doctor to just wanting to enjoy classes and learning. I ended up taking a lot of classes and eventually landing in English, but only because it was easiest and I enjoy reading and thinking.
This Wesh video is lacking in some respects; as I said before it is a good example of some things, what I want is ideas of how to implement technology in the classroom. I guess the video speaks for itself in that regard, but, what are some other things that can be done besides watching videos and creating google accounts, which isn't explained? I don't think students need to be reminded they are bored with traditional classrooms.

What I learned

The advice Mr. McClung had to offer was easy to comprehend, straightforward and all that, what it wasn't, however, is anything new or interesting. Don't just tell me to be reasonable, give me an example of a particular instance when you were unreasonable and how you either became reasonable or completely lost out on a critical teaching moment and then tell me what you would now do differently if you had the chance. That takes care of two of your criteria already; I now know what it is to be reasonable, how to use it properly, and I've "never stopped learning." McClung mentioned that he had trouble with his communication skills; wouldn't it have been great if he offered a personal story about how his trouble with communication affected a learning moment? Don't tell me teachers need to work on their communication skills, tell me what you do to help the problem. This guy teaches elementary school and apparently that is the audience he is blogging to as well. There is no real sound advice here, just a bunch of fluff, with nothing to be gained or learned from it. I've seen better, more practical advice written on a bathroom stall-door. I don't know, maybe there is something to learn from his other posts, but based on the one i just read, probably not.

Last Lecture

I really enjoyed this video of Randy Pausch's last lecture. He clearly has a great attitude, despite having terminal cancer, and it seems like this has always been his personality, not some sort of deathbed conversion. He has such a passion for what he does and what he has done with his life that one can only be inspired to dream and to dream big. Having goals and being motivated to achieve those goals at all costs should be a message instilled in every child. More importantly, however, is making sure the institutions we have in place provide the resources necessary to help every child reach their goals. For every Randy Pausch out there, there are hundreds, thousands, even millions of people that have just as much potential or more, but we will never see a video of them telling inspirational stories about obstacles overcome in their life. Brick walls? Go ask people living in poverty about brick walls; I'm sure they are more than happy to see the inside of four brick walls any chance they can.

Strange Bloggers

I commented on Kimberly Windham's post about Sir Ken Robinson. She made some good points covering the budget side of the issue. She also made a viable point that Sir Ken doesn't really offer an adequate or possible solution to the problem and that creative activities should be added to the teaching methods we already have. While this is a short-term solution, it doesn't cover the larger issues at hand, like why the teaching method in place is in place to beging with. I next commented on Mary Hutson's blog about Ken Robinson. She made an interesting observation about the focus being more on prescribing medication for learning disabilities rather than on the learning disabilities themselves. We've been treating individuals too long, its time to start treating the issue. Lastly, I commented on what Robbie

Past Podcasts

Honestly, all the podcasts I listened to had one thing in common; they were all, for the most part, kind of boring. I realize, as a current student, that the attitude in making these was for completion's sake only, but, it would be nice to hear a little personality from time to time. Every podacst was, of course, scripted, but it didn't have to sound like it was. Why would I ever want to hear someone or watch someone read from a piece of paper; why can't I just read the paper myself?
Podcasts should have a more conversational feel; there needs to be some interaction that is not necessarily scripted or planned out. New ideas should be presented and genuine reactions should be discussed; take the conversation somewhere and let it be a conversation, not a commercial. As for the video podcasts I watched, make me see that there is a reason I am watching a video instead of listening or reading, please; there has to be ways to make a handful of people talking amongst themselves more interesting.