Response to 'Growing Up Online'

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/

I feel that the Internet has both positive and negative influences on children. The Internet provides an extensive amount of useful resources for learning, researching, and self-expression. It just cannot be expressed how useful the Internet can be for children. As this video points out, however, for each of these advantages, the Internet has it's disadvantages as well. Of course sexual predators, cyberbullying, a child's rebellious behavior that is out of sight of their parents, and cheating are all causes for concern. Although these are all issues that are well worth worrying about, the Internet will not go away, and blaming computers and the Internet for our problems will not help at all. Instead, as addressed in this video, the important thing to note is that these issues need to be confronted. The best way to do this is to educate children on the proper uses of the Internet and to teach them how to use it responsibly, instead of in a negative way. Just as we teach our children to behave in a certain manner at home, in school, or anywhere in any public setting, we need to teach our children to behave in an acceptable manner online as well. This is not to say that we, as teachers or as parents, should be as overbearing as the PTO mother that we saw in this video, but we need to set behavioral expectations for out children/students to meet.

Green for Grade$

It seems that there are mixed emotions among my classmates about the Green for Grades program for high school students. Most want to give it some credit for the intentions and think that it is a good start toward improving student performance through motivation. I agree that it should be given some credit for its intentions, however, we as educators all know that good intentions are not equivalent to a good educational plan. NCLB for instance has good intentions, but may not be the greatest program put into action. Many also voiced their concerns about the Green for Grades program as well. One had issues with the idea that money is being given to students without having a way of monitoring what it is used to buy. She pointed out that this system could be funding alcohol or drug possession, which I think is a great point. Another had issues with the amounts given for grades, and whether or not C's deserved such a reward. I think a great point that was addressed was that the money does not come from taxes now, but if the program proves successful, the money may eventually come from there. As a taxpayer and future educator, if more tax dollars are to go towards education, I would rather it be used to provide resources in areas where they are lacking to try to level the playing field as much as possible. I feel the most important issue with the Green for Grades program, however, is the kind of learning that it will promote. In many cases, students will only learn what they have to for the money incentives. It promotes rote learning rather than learning for knowledge or understanding of concepts, which is the kind of learning that we as educators should be concerned about instilling. As a future educator I am concerned that rewarding students with money will send that message that there is a greater importance for money than there is for knowledge.

Resources:
http://rachelsedreflections.blogspot.com/
http://johnlundy.blogspot.com/
http://angeladodge.blogspot.com/
http://ldyschk2.blogspot.com/

Response to Perspectives of the 21st Century Student - Higher Ed and K-12

After viewing both perspectives of the 21st Century student, my perspective on changing technology in the classroom has become much more developed. It has become more apparent to me how important bringing new technology into the classroom is for my future students, having it brought to my attention how much time children these days spend watching TV, playing video games, surfing the net, talking on cellphones, texting, instant messaging, and so on. In order to accommodate for these changes, I would like to utilize different online teaching resources to help in teaching certain lessons. For example, I was recently introduced to a website that was very effective in teaching the vertex form of equations. I feel that this would have been helpful for me in learning this topic when I was in high school, whereas my teacher had to keep drawing the translate graphs. On this website, the graph was constantly changing as the values for a, h, and c were changed. In order to be able to utilize some of the elements of technology that I would like to use, however, my school would have to have access to expensive equipment like a projector and a calculator projector. These kinds of equipment were things that my high school went without for lack of funding, and I feel that this may be an issue for my future school as well. I feel that it is not a question of whether or not it is our responsibility as educators accommodate these changes, but rather it is essential to our future students' learning to be exposed to the growing technology in the classroom, not only because technology skills will be required for their future careers, but also because the incorporation of technology in the classroom will keep them more interested in the subject matter being taught. Although I believe that the incorporation of technology is essential, I also think that is important not to let the students or ourselves as educators become too dependent on this technology.

Response to Sir Ken Robinson's talk: Do Schools kill creativity?

In reviewing some of my classmates' responses to Sir Ken Robinson's talk on creativity in education, the general consensus seems to be that Sir Ken Robinson's opinion that education 'squanders' creativity through the emphasis on math, language, science, and other academic subjects as opposed to arts, dance, and music is correct. I do understand that education does not focus on teaching creativity, however, I do not agree with the idea that it crushes creativity all together. Just because it is not a main focus does not mean that it is not addressed at all. The notion that education crushes creativity is created under that assumption that academic subjects are solely academic. I believe, however, that students can express themselves just as creatively through writing papers in their English courses as they can painting a picture in art or performing a dance. Writing is one of the best ways to bring out your creativity and express yourself as a unique individual. That is what we are doing here in our blogs, expressing our own thoughts as unique individuals. Words play a strong role in being a creative individual. Although I do think it is sad that many music, band, art, and dance classes are disappearing out of elementary, middle, and high schools, and that these kinds of classes are important for students' creativity development, I think that this just means there is a greater opportunity for teachers of academic based classes to encourage more creativity in their lessons. As a math teacher, creativity isn't as easy to focus on, but it is a challenge that must be overcome. Incorporating group learning and fun activities that encourage inquiry based learning and creative assignments can are some ways in which we can encourage creativity in our students.

Students blogs referenced:
http://acttwointermission.blogspot.com
http://jzhang7.blogspot.com/
http://noodle55.wordpress.com/
http://melanieroon.blogspot.com/

Is it really okay to allow teachers to choose whether or not they incorporate modern technologies into their instruction?

I believe that, given the growing technology of today, teachers should understand that there is a need to incorporate technology into their classroom instruction. Resistance to incorporate modern technology into the classroom just creates a disadvantage for the students. Knowing how to use and becoming familiar with technology is important for students' future careers and other aspects of their lives, as technology is becoming more and more prominent in everyday activities. Incorporating technology into the classroom is inevitable, therefore, choosing whether or not to incorporate it is not an option for teachers. It should not be looked on as a nuisance though. It is a great opportunity for teachers to be creative in the way they choose to incorporate technology into their lessons, and it is an easy way to make learning a fun experience for the students.

Welcome!

My name is Emily Dirks. I grew up in Winchester, IL, which is a small town in central Illinois, and graduated from Winchester High School. I'm a junior at the University of Illinois studying mathematics and secondary education, and I hope to soon become a high school math teacher. Math has always come more easily to me, and I find it an intriguing subject that is essential in everyday life. I hope that throughout my career as a teacher, I can pass on this love and passion for math to my students.