Blog Post 2

Professor Dancealot Lectured More Than Danced

From experience, I can relate to those poor, drowsy students in Professor Dancealot. Last summer I signed up for drama at the University of South Alabama, and I didn't get what I expected. I thought I was going to be doing plays, but I really sat in a classroom for an hour and a half listening to lectures about people who performed many eons ago. We did get to act a few times, but I never really learned drama. Professor Dancealot made a classic mistake teachers tend to make--he lectured the students about dance without letting them actually dance. When the final exam came he expected the students to perform dance even though they learned nothing and never went to a dance studio. From what I saw, the students all failed. I'm not a fan of always blaming the teacher, but in cases where a concept can only be learned through performance, it's the teacher's fault if he/she doesn't encourage students to get up and learn. I think teachers shouldn't expect their students to learn without exposing them to the environment that they should learn.

The Networked Student

In the Networked Student Wendy Drexler used caricature to show a young college student aspiring to succeed in American Psychology. The college student's teacher never lectured, so how was he supposed to learn? Well, she believed in something called Connectivism, and she used her belief to encourage the class to gain their own education through a learning network. 

The college student took control of his education's destiny through reaching out to other students via learning network. Through that learning network, he gathered tools he needed in order to succeed in American Psychology. His professor acted as a "Learning Architect" and improved his ability to communicate. I think that is wonderful because we all need somebody to push us in the right direction.






Why do we need a teacher?

We need teachers because teachers have a status that ordinary citizens don't have. Teachers are expected to have expertise in a specific field like English, math, science, or history. That's okay. Think about it. If somebody who bagged groceries told you he wanted you to join a learning network to become immersed with your education, you'd probably ignore him because he doesn't have the status that suggests he knows something success. It's the cold truth about this world. In most cases, we can't (and shouldn't) trust information from illegitimate sources. The college student in the video needed the professor because she was a reliable source to go to in case he needed extra help. We need teachers because knowledge will not be obtained and passed on without their hard work. It's the student's job to work also.

Revised

Tonya Murphy discussed Teaching in the 21st Century

Kevin Roberts sees the future filled with technology. I agree with the idea that teachers should be teaching their students about computers. The world is at your fingertips with computers, as long as you have the knowledge of how to find it. I believe that computers should be a must in schools today ,and not just the simple typing classes, but the basics of the internet. The world is going green; everything is becoming computerized. While all of the subjects (math, science, english, etc) are necessary, it will be hard to get a job without the knowledge of computers. Roberts also pointed out the fact that we need to engage our students, not just put a teacher in front of the classroom. The students need to have fun while learning. We need to allow them access to their phones in school as a learning tool. At the same time the school board cripples teachers in that aspect, because the principals will not allow phones on the premises. A technology class should be offered where cell phones are welcomed in at least that class.

Christopher Perry discussed Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Mrs. Vicky Davis is a great example of what we need from future generation teachers. She believes that if you give the students the tools and accessibility to look up information that they may not know they can find out for themselves. In one part of her lesson she told them to do a certain thing that she did not know how to do. She required them to look up how to preform the operation and then report back to her and teach the rest of the class and herself. This operation that she had them do was called terraforming. She also went on and connected her students to other students around the world in a global collaboration to work with students around the world. Those students coming from a rural community in southern Georgia are learning things that are a head of their time. Basically, what she is trying to say is that we as educators should not be trying to discourage the process of learning but taking away the most powerful tools that we have available today.