Blog Post #2

In my opinion, ”Mr. Dancealot” is being a one dimensional instructor. I say this because he is trying to teach his students about dance but he doesn’t allow them time to practice the dances he is teaching them about. He uses PowerPoint presentations to convey how the dances should be completed and expects his students to effectively master the concepts, with no further instruction. Mr. Dancealot then expects his students to reenact what he presented, via PowerPoint, in the ballroom for their final. With no class time allotted for practice, they were left to use only lecture notes to meet the expectations set forth by the professor. During the final, the students expressed how they tried to practice the dances at home but were unsure if they were completing the dances correctly, due to the fact that they received little assistance from Mr. Dancealot. Over the course of the semester, he was not open to suggestions from his students and presented himself as somewhat of a dance instruction dictator. I do not agree with this conclusion, in my opinion, this is NOT an acceptable way to instruct a dance class. The class should have been conducted in an area suitable for dance practice over the course of the semester, not just for the final. Engaging with the students and allowing time to practice would have made the class more enjoyable and would he left the students feeling better prepared and excited about their final.

After viewing ”Teaching in the 21st Century” I gained a new understanding of what it means to teach in the 21st century. Students bring their own set of knowledge, Values, Skills and Attitudes into the classroom and each experience is unique and just as valuable as the next. By placing such a value of the unique experiences of the students, in essence Mr. Roberts is teaching in the 21st century. Long gone are the days of teacher centered education where students were to no more than an avenue by which teachers could dictate. Today, students can offer just as much to the learning process as the teacher and many teachers are inspired by this. If Mr. Roberts is correct it will affect every aspect of me being an educator. Rather than participate in burp back education I would be encouraging my students to utilize the tools available to them to gain the information needed to solve any particular problem. I would be available to answer questions that are not readily available to students but knowing I will not be there to hold their hold will only push them harder to get it done on their own.

With this video, After viewing The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler the author illustrates the need for students to engage in the Connectivism approach to learning. This concept was new to me but it seems as though it is very effective. In other words the author believes that the teacher should not be the focus of the learning process. The concept of Connectivism lets a teacher act more a guide to the knowledge process rather than the education process being teacher centered. Although the teacher is less hands on using this concept the learning process of the student remains a focus. This is evident by the joy expressed when the students encounter new resources on their own. Since Technology is a part of everything we do, it is important to be able to utilize resources correctly and efficiently, which is why I believe this concept is very relevant in progression of the 21st century student. The idea of not using a textbook is not necessarily a new one but has been rare to take courses where text books are not required. This video would lead you to believe that soon, all hard copy text books would be obsolete. Before EDM310 I don’t know if I would have agreed with this approach to learning, but now I am a believer. I personally feel a certain level of gratification when I am able to complete my assignments correctly with minimal assistance from traditional text or my instructor.

The main ideas presented in ”Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts” was that not all students can learn with pencil and paper, not including technology in the learning process would mean excluding many students. Ms. Davis believes every student is capable of learning and she is using technology as a vital link between her and her students. The fact that she was previously recognized for having the best education blog in the world speaks volumes as to what has accomplished with the help of technology. Ms. Davis speaks of many teacher’s fear to explore new things because they have not personally mastered a concept. I think that was an important point to make, because like she said the students can also help the teacher and often feel empowered when they do so. One of the most powerful statements in this video was from Ms. Davis it reminds me on the very essence of EDM310 and the views expressed by Dr. Strange “I don’t have to define EVERYTHING and I shouldn't…they should be thinkers.”

Although the concept of ”Flipping the Classroom” is new to me it seems to offer many advantages to students. It introduces them to advanced technology concepts at a younger age and also encourages critical thinking by allowing the students to watch prerecorded information at home so that their questions will be well thought out when they return to the classroom the following day. Although it is only being used for math, it can be useful for all core curriculum subjects. I don’t know about anyone else but as a child when I asked my mother for help with my homework I was often torn between accepting the help she could provide and following the instructions just as they were given to me by my teacher. Flipping the classroom would enable parents to have access to the same information their child is learning in school, thus making it easier to assist him or her. I think this approach would be very useful to me as a teacher. Especially taking the No Child Left Behind Act into consideration. No two children learn at the same pace so flipping the classroom could serve as a backup tool for those student who may not understand something learned in class.