Blog Post #2

1.) Mr. Dancealot
 The central message of Mr. Dancelot is that there are many ways to teach something, but not all of them are ideal . If you want your students to know how to dance, teach them by letting everyone practice dancing. If you want them to know all about dancing, but don't care if they can do it, then teach them like Mr. Dancealot did in the video. The author of the video did an excellent job of making his point by showing the students in class watching Mr. Dancelot, but not being involved, and then showing them in the ballroom not knowing how to dance. I agree that students need to have hands-on learning, as well as practice before they will fully understand something. It is so much easier to learn something, especially things like dancing, when you actually get a chance to try it. 

2.) Teaching in the 21st Century
Roberts believes that teaching in the 21st century involves teaching students how to use technology to find information. There are so many ways students can get information. They have access to internet virtually all of the time, so they have information about anything, anytime, anywhere. He states in the video, "Teachers are no longer the source of knowledge, we are the filter." He thinks that teachers should move towards teaching students how to find reliable information, instead of teaching them the actual information. Roberts thinks that tools such as Twitter, Wikipedia, Facebook, Blogs, and Google could be very beneficial to students and that they could completely change the way we teach students. I agree with Roberts on some things. I do think that all of these tools could be very useful in the classroom, and it is important for students to know how to use them properly. However, I don't think this will effect the way I teach in my future classroom. I plan to use technology, but not for every little thing. I think that it is important for students are educated on how to use it, so they can when needed, but it should not take over the classroom. Google holds all the answers, and I believe it makes things too easy sometimes. Students need to learn how to think on their own. This video made me sad, really. This is not how I envisioned my future career. I want my students to come to me for help, to ask me questions about their world. I want to teach them about everything, not just how to use the internet effectively.

3.) The Networked Student
While I think certain aspects of this video are true, I do not agree with it completely. I think there is more to a teachers job than to just guide a student in finding the information on their own. This may work for older students, but I don't believe it is the most effective teaching method for elementary school children. Young kids need to be taught in a classroom, with an actual person helping them. Doing it all online would be very overwhelming for the age group I would like to teach.

4.) Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
I believe the thesis of this video is that teachers can use technology to enhance their students learning abilities, and that teachers don't have to fully understand something before they teach it. While I do think the internet can be very useful, I think it is important for a teacher to understand something before expecting their students to. It's also important to be able to learn from your students though. I thought it was very interesting that she managed to connect her small town classroom to the entire world. The internet can do great things. Even though I may not think it's all necessary in a classroom, I do know that it can be helpful.

5.) Who's Ahead in the Learning Race?
Clearly, elementary students are ahead in the learning race when it comes to technology. My generation was taught using paper and pencil, and students are being taught using technology now. I enjoy using my MacBook, but it was never a requirement for me to have a laptop or tablet in school. Now, children are exposed to all of these things and more before they can even talk most of the time. The younger you are when you're exposed to something, the better you will be at using it. I am currently a sophomore in college, and think that I know how to use technology fairly well. I would be better if I had started at a younger age though.

6.)Flipping the Classroom
I took a chemistry class where we watched the lessons at home, and in class we just "reviewed." It was by far my least favorite, hardest class that I have ever taken. Personally, I do not do well when I can't ask the teacher questions while learning, and I think there are too many distractions at home for it to be an effective learning environment. I can see how this could work for some kids, but overall I don't like it. I believe learning in a classroom, where you can get the students involved, and they can ask questions, is much more effective. I also think that after being at school all day, children shouldn't have to go home and watch videos and do homework all night. Some homework is fine, but kids need time to be kids. I would give this a shot, because I may very well be wrong. However, I wouldn't be overly excited about it.

7.) Bringing the Locker Room Into the Classroom
I believe that coaches can get their players so involved because they are motivated. They want to play well, and they want to help their team win. When students are motivated, they want to know everything they can to help them succeed. It is much easier to get your class involved when they know the "system" and are motivated. I would love to bring the locker room into my classroom when I get a job teaching.