Blog Post 5

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff Please?
In this opening assignment Dr. Mcleod explains all of the stuff that parents need to be afraid of in today's society. He talks about to not let your kids basically have any technology and to see who will come out better (your kids who have no technology, or his that do have it). He is really sarcastic about technology in the beginning, but takes an unexpected turn and changes the program.
The way I understood Dr. Mcleod's passage was extremely sarcastic in the beginning. I was completely in shock someone was that against technology, and then it took an unexpected turn by him saying that he was going to let his kids do all of those things and to see whose kids would come out ahead in the end.
The iSchool Initiative
The second assignment was the iSchool initiative. This was done by Travis Allen from Georgia and he is wanting to start this life changing initiative. He basically has a powerpoint of the iSchool and shows how we can use the iphone to our advantage in the classroom. We can use it from anything from scientific calculators to books, and it is just a tremendous piece of technology.
I think the iSchool initiative is a great idea because as a college student, it could be a lot cheaper to have this one thing instead of books and all of the other school supplies a student needs. I mean you have to have everything, and it definitely takes a toll on your wallet. I think its a great idea, but the application for the iSchool is $150 but how much would the service cost for your phone? and the phone itself? I do not know because I do not have the iphone so my question is would it really be cheaper?
Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
In this assignment Whitacre sets up a choir from people all across the country and by using webcams they are able to make an amazing performance by never seeing each other and practicing, just by getting together online. This is an amazing tool the internet can be used for, and it is just amazing the technology that we have today.
All I can say about this is wow. That is just amazing they were able to sound like that without ever meeting one single time. It is even more impressive that it was done totally online!
Teaching in the 21st Century
This is a video that brings to light what it means to teach in the 21st century. It asks a lot of questions on how we can use technology to help teach our students. Basically, we should use technology to our advantage.
I feel that Roberts is on the right track and that we should use technology to our advantage. I mean as educators and inspiring educators it is a win win for us. The reason I say this is because as classroom teachers we have to be lifetime learners as well as teachers. So, why not use this to our advantage? Another important thing to remember is that Roberts shows us how to teach our students to use the internet. It is the perfect set up.