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!