Blog Post 2: What Will Teaching in the 21st Century be Like?

Mr. Dancealot
I believe the central message of the movie Mr. Dancealot is in order for students to learn, they have to have the chance to practice and try it for their selves. In this movie the instructor showed the students images of what to do, and sort of showed them the movements, but they were not able to try it for themselves. When exam day came they were quite confused about how to do the dances. The same is true for anything you try to learn. I agree with the author’s message. You need to be able to put into practice the things instructors tell and show you so that you can learn how to do them as well. Sure, we can memorize things and know them for our tests, but have we truly learned anything? Probably not. In order for us to learn and actually have knowledge about something we need to be able to actively do what we are taught.

Teaching in the 21st Century
In the movie Teaching in the 21st Century, Kevin Roberts tells us how to have a new outlook on the way we educate our children. With the world changing around us, the people are forced to do the same. Educators need to find new ways to teach, and the internet can be used as a tool to teach children. We do not have to treat it like it is something bad. Everything can have something negative about it; the way we choose to use it to our advantage makes all the difference. In the past, teachers are expected to have all the knowledge and be able to impart it to the students, but in this movie Robert explains how educators need to learn how to become filters for the students, allowing them to find answers for themselves with the guidance of their instructor. I know from experience that when I was in school I memorized a lot of facts. The teacher would give us the information and we were expected to know it for the essay, test, or whatever the assignment asked for. This is not teaching us any kind of skills. Roberts explains how students need to be taught skills so that they can apply them to real world issues. One example he used was how to fix your car. This does not necessarily apply to the students now, but one day it might. By teaching them how to problem solve and think for themselves, students will be better prepared for what comes later. Children need to be able to go and look for the answers and apply that to whatever they need to. I feel that Robert's approach to teaching will help children not only learn more, but do better as adults. They will be able to apply the skills they were taught to all parts of life.

The Networked Student
The Networked Student shows us what it is like being a 21st century student. The main character took a class that asked for him to utilize all his resources. That included connecting with a network of people in order to learn from each other. At the very end of the movie a simple question was asked; "Why does a networked student even need a teacher?" With all of the many different resources we have as students it is easy to see how some people could think there is no need for a teacher, but that is not correct. The teacher is needed for guidance. He or she will be the one to help you know what information to use and what to discard. Just because we have all the information at our fingertips doesn't mean we know how to navigate through all of it. That is why we still need teachers.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
This movie shows a very good example of not only the advantage of using technology in the classroom but also how with a little guidance students can learn to harness technology and use it to teach others. At one point the instructor in the movie told us how she did not teach her students how to terraform. They took what the teacher gave them and used it to learn more then turned around and taught her something. Just by her being there to give a little guidance the students were able to flourish.

Who's Ahead in the Learning Race?
If I was asked this question before watching this movie my answer would have been different than the one I will give after watching this movie. It would seem that the third graders were definitely ahead in the learning race. They had their Mac Books for only two days and could probably do more than I can now. It's embarrassing to admit, but at first I was one of those students who complained about Macs being difficult to use and hard to figure out, but after I took the time to explore I could navigate on one pretty well. The younger children seem more eager to learn using their computers, whereas the graduates and undergraduates see it more as a chore. As an undergraduate I usually have the mindset of how I have to use technology, instead of I get to use technology when it involves my education. With the advances in technology, society is changing the ways we do things in order to to take advantage of these advances. All students, including myself, need to utilize these resources and use them to our better education.

Flipping the Classroom
The phrase “flipping the classroom” is new to me. I had never heard of it before watching this movie. I could see this approach really working in the classroom for both the students and teacher. It would give students the chance to get ahead and be more prepared for the lessons in the classroom. On the other hand teachers would be given more time in the classroom during the day and able to help more students. He or she would be able to give the students more instruction while also giving more attention to the students who need extra help. I would be more than willing to use this technique in my classroom one day in the future.