Mr. Winkle Wakes

I watched Mr. Winkle Wakes on YouTube. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm1sCsl2MQY

     I really enjoyed watching this video. At first I was wondering how it was going to be related to education. In the video, Mr. Winkle awakes after sleeping for 100 years. Everything in the world is different and he does not like it. He finally comes to a school where everything is exactly the same as he remembers it being 100 years earlier. The desks are arranged in rows with the teacher lecturing at the front of the room. The students are taking notes on the basic subjects of reading, writing, and math. Mr. Winkle does see one unfamiliar thing, a laptop, but it is in the corner of the room, dusty, and unused.
    
     Obviously, the point the video is trying to get across is how the world has changed so much in terms of technology, yet our schools have stayed the same. Today business people can have video conferences with people from across the world. Hospitals have machines that can save people's lives. Computers are wonderful tools for businesses and families. I agree with the main point of the video, that schools need to be changing with the rest of the world. Today's students especially are exposed to all kinds of technology and use devices such as computers, Internet, cell phones, and video games in their every day lives. Technology seems to be of interest to children today, so if there was more of it in schools, I believe learning would become more interesting for students. There are endless opportunities technology has to offer in classrooms. It is up to the teachers to work on utilizing these resources. They include computers, Internet, devices for science experiments, and others. Internet can be used to create educational blogs, doing research for projects, and even creating projects in the form of videos, slide shows, and websites.

     It is not just teachers who are responsible for integrating technology in classrooms. They have to have the available resources to be able to use all these different types of technology. This means school boards and school districts need to work on getting computers in classrooms with Internet access. PowerPoint projectors and smart boards are also very beneficial tools to have in the classroom. In a perfect world, every classroom would be equipped with all materials necessary to fully integrate technology into the curriculum. It seems like a daunting task, but I believe it is certainly worth the effort.

Please add any comments or opinions you may have on this subject!

Creativity video-Ken Robinson

I watched the video on creativity by Ken Robinson. Here is the link: http://sites.google.com/site/drasresources/awareness-videos

Robinson is a proponent of promoting creativity in our school systems. He defines creativity as "the process of having original ideas that have value." He believes that all kids have talent but that it gets squandered in school. He stated that creativity is as important as literacy. In the video, Robinson tells two stories of kids being creative. One little girl was drawing a picture of God. The teacher said to the child, "no one know what God looks like." The child responded, "They will in a minute." The other story was about a boy who was in a nativity play. His role was that of the wise man who brought frankincense. Instead of saying frankincense, the child said, "Frank sent this." The point Robinson was trying to make with these stories is that children are not afraid of making mistakes or being wrong. Children will take chances until they learn in school that it is a bad thing to make a mistake.

I honestly did not enjoy this video very much. I felt like much of it was just Robinson making jokes and trying to be funny. I did not catch any main points that I strongly agreed with. I do think creativity is a very important aspect of a child's development and learning. However, I do not agree that creativity is as important as literacy. I believe that literacy is one of the main foundations for all learning. Robinson seems to believe that language and math should not be at the top of the "curriculum hierarchy" and that art and music should be important parts in a school curriculum. He believes that schools prepare students to be university professors. I can see his point, but I disagree. I think that schools teach students the basic knowledge they need to succeed in life. In high schools there are different tracks for students to take. At my high school, there was a university track for students planning on attending a university, and a technical track for students who did not plan on attending a university. My school had classes that prepared students for work in technical areas such as car mechanics, hair stylists, and cooking/homemaking. Students had choices as to which classes they enrolled in.

I do believe that creativity is important and that schools should work to foster children's creativity. I believe this can be done through music, dance, and art classes. I still believe that core classes such as math and language are important parts of a child's curriculum. I also believe that within the subjects of math and language, creativity can be fostered through projects and activities that draw on student's creative abilities.

Please feel free to agree or disagree with me and leave your comments! :)