Blog Post #2

The main thing I took away from the Dancealot video is how not to effectively teach students. The video shows us that we cannot expect students to learn something like how to dance by just watching power points. In order for students to learn how to dance, they must be able to practice in order to get better. When you try to teach students without demonstrating what you're teaching, they can quickly become bored and lose focus on what you're teaching. This theory applies to other subject matters other than just teaching students how to dance. Engaging students is one of the only ways they will truly learn what you're trying to teach. Technology is one thing that is increasing rapidly. In the Teaching in the 21st Century video, Roberts suggests that teaching will be completely based on technology in the future. I agree that technology is very important in education, but it is still our jobs as teachers to make sure that the students are using technology in the right ways. It is our job to interpret some of the things that they find on Google if they are still unclear of the meanings. We need to continue to guide our students because not everything they need to know can be found on the internet.

The Networked Student concept is different, but interesting. The students are essentially teaching themselves, while they have a teacher as more of a guide. The work their way through an online collaborative page where they share ideas with other students on that page. Whether the teacher is simply a guide or someone to ask questions to, we all have the same goal: to ensure students succeed. I think that Vicky Davis' ideals of teaching are appropriate for middle and high school students. Her ideals state that if students have a question about something, they should look to the internet for the answer. I think this is a good practice for secondary level students because most of them do this already. I know if I don't know the answer to something or the exact definition of a word, I pull out my phone and google it. I think that elementary students still need a little more guidance and help from us as teachers before they should completely rely on the internet. I think the Flipping the Classroom concept is brilliant. Having the students look at the information online before it is covered in class can help them understand. This way, they can get a feel for the information for themselves before it is taught and they can come up with their own questions they may have. Since all of the students will already know a little something about what is going to be taught, the students should be more engaged in class the next day when the material is taught.