Blog Post #2

Did you know?

On the Did you know video I found several things interesting but have some differing opinions also.  I will start with the items I agreed with and then move on to those that I have differing opinions about.  First, they mention in the video that if you're 1 in a million in China, there are 1300 just like you.  I agree with this statement but I also disagree.  Every human is different so 1 in a million is truly 1 in a million, billion, or trillion.  If you are speaking on someone's abilities, then yes, there are probably 1300 people that have the same ability as you.  They also mention in the video that we are preparing our children for jobs that don't exist, using technology that hasn't been invented to solve problems that aren't problems yet.  How can we do this?  I believe we can only prepare for what we know but can adapt to any new situation.  It is amazing that in 2008, "Bermuda was the #1 country in the world in Broadband Internet penetration".  In 2008, it was 72.1% of the population and one year later it was at 75.2%.  There income is also the highest per capita in the world and their major source of income is financial services for the international community and tourists services. (Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/am/bm.htm)  I wonder if there is a link between the internet usage and their income.  Lastly, in the video, they mentioned that the total text messages sent & received everyday in 2008 was more than the total population of the Planet.  If it were more than the population in 2008, just imagine where it has gone today.  I believe that the amount of power needed to send the amount of text messages we send today is probably enough to power an entire country.

Now to move on to some things that I don't necessarily agree with.  In the video they stated that by 2013, a supercomputer will be built that can exceed the computational capability of the human brain.  This is by no way true.  A computer, no matter how powerful it is, is just a machine built by humans.  Yes, it may be able to process information placed into it by a human faster but without the human interface, the computer won't do anything.  They also mention that in 2049, a $1000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the entire human species.   Are we becoming "The Matrix" and computers are taking over the world and there will no longer be a need for humans?  When this happens, the planet will cease to exist because it was made for humans.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

Mr. Winkle wakes is what I consider a common problem with the education system as it is today.  Mr. Winkle has been asleep for 100 years and he expects things to be the same way they were 100 years ago.  Why would it be that way?  The world moves and things advance whether we are sleeping or not.  Just because you are not familiar with the technology does not mean that it will not impact your life.  There is no way Mr. Winkle could survive anywhere in that world except the classroom.

The classroom is where the problem has been but I have seen great changes happening as of late.  In colleges, professors are moving to lectures where you don't need a pencil and a paper but a laptop to take notes on presentations that are already on your computer.  Primary education (while still behind) has begun to adapt computer labs and lessons for children at the youngest age so they can try to keep up with society.  Even back in my day in high school, we had to learn how to type because they knew we wouldn't be using pencils and paper but a typewriter (now computers).

Mr. Winkle did have one good point; that is that we should never forget where we have come from.  Things are moving and changing so fast, it is easy to forget the mistakes of the past and the successes we have had.  In 2008, we had one of the biggest stock market crashes ever but the world is continuing to operate as it did then.  They say that we only use 10% of our brain capacity, imagine if that was cut in half or even more.  With the onsite of technology, I have seen people going backwards and saying, why do I need to know this or that, I have a cell phone or a computer for that.  Technology is great, but if not careful, you (humans) can let it take over and you (humans) will become useless.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

The video on the importance of creativity is and probably will be contradictory to what society views as important for education.  Sir Ken Robinson points out very interesting facts about education; one being that we don't really know what the world will hold in the future but we should be educating for it.  As I mentioned earlier in this blog post, how can we teach for something in which we don't know?  I truly don't believe we can.  We can only teach based on what we know and let the children create the future.  He also indicated that education was predicated on academic ability.  How can we be positive that someone lacks the academic ability if we only afford them one way to express their academic prowess?  Musicians, artists, and athletes are all creative and intelligent in their field of expertise.  Who are we to take the creativity out of them and make us all the same?  Why do that to a child?  Let them be who they are while making sure they understand the basics.  Not all students are valedictorians but everyone has a special God given gift to use and will if allowed.

I believe Sir Ken Robinson was trying to say that creativity is what is needed to not just shape the future, but also shape the world we live in today.  Through creativity, technology was created and expanded upon and it can only continue to be that way if we allow creativity to remain in education.  Sir Ken Robinson mentioned that kids will take a chance because they are not frightened about being wrong.  He also mentioned that we are educating creativity out of people.  This will ruin the world as the world was built on creativity.  Take for instance, an architect.  They allow their mind to work and their visions to be displayed in the art (whether it is a building architect or a system architect).  Their creativity allows them to do something that hasn't been done before and they are often times rewarded for it.

I also agree with Sir Ken Robinson when he states that creativity is as important as literacy.  He mentioned that every education system in the world has the same hierarchy.  This is that math, science, and reading are at the top and creativity is at the bottom.  As educators we have to be creative in the way we teach so the students can learn in various different ways.  Why not allow the children to be creative in expressing what they learned?  The main thing we want from the students is that they learn material, but we only want to test in one way.  We need to allow each child to be creative in their learning while ensuring that they definitely understand the material.  If not learned already, we will learn that everybody learns in their own unique way.  If you can help them learn their material the way they need to learn it, help them.  Yes, right is right and wrong is wrong, but maybe it is not the student that is wrong, but the educator in their approach.

Cecelia Gault Interviews Sir Ken Robinson

One key thing that sticks out to me after reading Cecelia's post and watching the video is that there is some confusion on the meaning of intelligence.  Intelligence is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary online as: 1. the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations 2. the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as tests) (source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intelligence).  To me, this is three different definitions for intelligence, thus the confusion among the 50 specialists on the meaning of intelligence.  Because there is confusion on the meaning of the word, how can we say that one is or is not intelligent?  Everyone has the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate the environment in which they exist.  If they did not, they would not exist.  Also, we have all had trying situations and have come through them.  If we had not learn form that situation we could not grow and would probably be dead.


I would respond to Cecelia by first saying that educators need to change the way in which they teach. We are too focused on making sure all of the material is covered rather than making sure the students have learned anything.  I do believe that the younger generation understands and uses computers much better than those of us that are a little older and as time goes on, they will understand the new technology better than those that are using the newest things today.  I agree with Sir Ken Robinson when he states that everyone is creative.  We are all creative in our own special way.  We do this through our writing, speaking, dancing, singing, playing, and even learning.  If you have seen Akeelah and the Bee, during the movie, Akeelah had to keep time (jump rope) to remember how to spell some words.  It wasn't that she didn't know how to spell the words; she was just creative in how she went about remembering how to spell the words.  So, creativity comes in all forms and fashions but it is creativity, nevertheless.

To make sure the students in my classroom have the same type of good education as Cecelia Gault, I have to adapt to the different ways in which the children learn.  I will have to use technology, especially in math.  I will provide visual learning opportunities, audio learning opportunities, and most importantly to me practical application of what is being taught.  How can I expect my students to understand what I am teaching if I can't tell and show them how they will use the information that is being provided.  I want my students to understand what I am trying to teach them for the future and not just for a test.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Harness your students' digital smarts was a lot like what Sir Ken Robinson was trying to prove.  Vicki Davis stated that she believes every student can achieve but basically not by pen and paper alone.  I have stated that throughout this blog post because I believe it takes more than standardized test to truly test someone's understanding of a subject.  Vicki customizes the material she has to cover to fit the group of learners in the classroom.  This is one of the best ways to cover material so you make sure students are getting the most out of what you are trying to teach them.  Vicki also uses the technological tools to get her students to become independent learners.  Like she said, you shouldn't have to teach them everything for them to learn it.  Some items must be learned by research as this is basically how life will go.  We learn by trial and error.  Vicki stated that some teachers think you have to know everything to teach it.  Vicki stated it and I believe this is not true.  We will often time learn from those we are teaching.  Learning should come full circle and everything that we teach should be able to be taught to us by a student in a way that they understand.

Vicki has done a wonderful job of keeping students up to date with technology and making them very diversified.  Her use of the web has allowed her students to connect with students all over the world.  She empowers her students to share with one another thus making a stress free learning environment and it also helps to make the students want to learn more.  Vicki believes that you have to turn school upside down.  While you are at it, you can also turn it inside out and she has done that by inviting more students into her classroom from all over the world.  If we as educators can approach learning from a let's see what's going on in the world and see how we can make it better point of view, we can bring creativity into the classroom and create the next Bill Gates.  I want to be the teacher the student remembers for the rest of their life because I have helped shape who they are today.