Blog Post # 2

Mr.Dancealot
by: Chastity Westry and Shanda Thornton
 

The movie Mr.Dancealot was a perfect example of teaching in an inappropriate environment. This Social Dance class took place in a lecture hall, filled with auditorium seats and very little space. This course should have taken place in a gym or empty classroom with a lot of free space. In the movie, the students had a variety of mixed expressions and comments toward the instructor. The confusion from the students most likely resulted from the students not actually being able to perform the instructed stances and movements that they were shown. Obviously, when taking a dance class, being able to mock and practice moves are keys to becoming a successful dancer. Mocking these movements during class can give the teacher observations on the progress of their students. Also, this allows the students to be able to correct any wrong movements and improve the class’s progress. When teaching a course, the instructor has to make sure the appropriate tools and environment are available, in order to teach a successful course. Therefore, teaching a Social Dance class, with seated students in an auditorium will not lead to a successful course. To conclude, a majority of the students in this movie most likely failed the course, simply because of  inappropriate setting and instructions.

 

What it will be like to teach in the 21st century

by: Shanda Thornton
 

 

  In this video, we see a list of advancements in technology that are used on a daily basis. The advancement of technology makes it easier to find answers within minutes. The social networks that are available are also a key media in this century. We as teachers should be able to teach our students how to use all the advancements in technology to benefit them to the greatest extent. It should be a top priority to keep up with these resources and learn about all the useful devices that are conveniently available and beneficial to education. Teachers should embrace all of the technologies and use them as often as possible, and also make sure our students can properly use and maintain the new tools that we have. When used correctly they will benefit the teachers and the students. In the movie, Robert showed the difference between entertaining and engaging. These new devices actively engage students, instead of entertaining which is just passive. Students need to be taught to apply, understand, analyze, evaluate, and to be creative  based on the things they explore through technology. They also need to be able to validate, communicate, synthesize, and analyze the information they find, As long as they are taught about piracy, copyrights, confidentiality, and not to plagiarize and copy or cheat, I think that teaching in the 21st century is given an “Easy” button by all the medias and devices ready to use in this day in age. One click and you're ready to go! It is just too easy to tweet, facebook, blog, subscribe to blogs, and anything else you could think of. The possibilities are endless, and exciting to explore! When using these resources, teachers become a filter, challenging students to find relevant information that they can explain and justify.

Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts

This video shows Ms. Vicki Davis, who won the award for Best Teacher Blog world wide this year. She is a teacher and IT director in rural South Georgia. Her classroom is strictly technology based. She and her students both teach and she says that you don’t have to know everything in a subject to teach it. She and her students learn new things daily. Technology is taking over and she is preparing her students to get comfortable with using new programs. Ms. Vicki uses every type of technology to connect her students to the world. She also stated that every student can learn but when students only have pencil and paper only certain types of students will succeed, so she looks at each of her students strengths and interests and while accomplishing curriculum she customizes her classroom and plans according to her students.
 

The Networked Student

by : Chastity Westry
 

          The Networked Student Movie, gave me an insight on many different ways the internet can assist a student. Also, the movie demonstrated on how using the web results in connectivism. There is so much information out there in the world , other than our textbooks. Using programs, such as Blogspot and bookmark sites can be very helpful and provide a wide variety of feedback. Opinions on blogs can be more easier to comprehend, rather than reading passages from textbooks. Not only could it be easier to understand, but there could be a lot more information provided on these sites, from bloggers and authors all across the world.

            Using via blog and social sites all fall into the system of connectivism. In EDM 310, I plan to use all of the resources given to me by my instructor and connect with every single one of my peers.This will be important because we can share and compare our information, not only in class, but out of class as well. For example, the EDM 310 class blog ran by our instructor provides us students with immediate updates, instruction manuals, a syllabus, and shortcuts.  Based on the technology we have today at our university , My peers and I will be able to use the system of connectivism. It is said that the term connectivism, is the application of network principles to define both knowledge and the process of knowledge. Connectivism can be used for biological, social, cognitive, and conceptual ideas.

            Some would ask the question, “ why do we even need a teacher?” .Even though students have access to the web and tons of resources, the teacher/instructor still plays a major role in the classroom. Teachers will be needed for guidance and acceptance. He or she will be expected to show the student  how to communicate properly with others and differentiate good information from bad information. With that being said, the teacher hopes their students take these skills that they have learned to help make major changes in the worlds future. As a student, having all of these resources, I would still want to be able to turn to my instructor with a  question on anything I need help with. I feel as if they are very important because they are there not only for guidance, but for me, a motivational figure.