I really enjoyed watching the video and listening to our book
this week (yes, I found it on an audiobook).
I don’t think we ever really take the time to think or appreciate major
events such as the printing press or the telegraph. It reminds me of all the struggles and
setbacks that have to happen before we get the next greatest thing. It really didn’t just happen, it was a
process of hard work, revisions and errors before the final product could be
used and make our lives better. When I
was helping 4th grade with their space unit I started doing some
research on my own into the space program.
I listened to books, watched movies, went to the air and space museum in
DC and the Houston center where mission control was located during the moon
landing. Thinking about the telegraph was
much like my thinking of space travel. It
doesn’t just happen there is a long history of dedication and sacrifice. What we gain from new inventions makes our
world a better place, but it also creates a dark side as well. I believe I saw a pattern of the same consequences
happening with the introduction of a new technology – and this was confirmed
with our discussion in class. It creates
new jobs, influences all of our systems (government, business, education, etc.),
is used for both good and evil, it can change our social interactions and personal
relationships, and can produce even a new language to name a few
consequences. In our discussion we also
address a sort of obsession when a new technology is introduced – I believe
that also happens in education when something is new and is considered the next
best thing to give us all our answers for teaching. I believe technology is a tool to help us and
tools are used differently in every situation.
What works for one person may not work for another. As I think of all the different tools, I use
with students some have worked better than others but it is usually dependent
on how and why they are being used. We
cannot use tools just to use them they need to have a very specific
purpose. I do love technology and I love
trying new things. It was amazing to see
the parallel of the telegraph and the internet almost being the same story. It is hard to think of life before we had the
Internet just as it would have been hard to go back to the time of the pony
express after having the telegraph. We
have to the both the good and the bad as we continue to progress, and
technology continues to move forward and improve. I think I might have jumped around a bit on
my thoughts here, so I hope I have made some sort of point.
This is an update still thinking of how much our lives change with technology. I had saved this link in my Facebook to show my students and I believe it is very appropriate here and as we move into next week with technology tools This is how Tokyo will use technology to transform the 2020 Olympics
This is an update still thinking of how much our lives change with technology. I had saved this link in my Facebook to show my students and I believe it is very appropriate here and as we move into next week with technology tools This is how Tokyo will use technology to transform the 2020 Olympics
Hi Angie,
ReplyDeleteYes, we need background knowledge as teachers, too before we teach units like the space unit you mentioned above in your blog. I just moved to second grade this year and have to create background knowledge for some of the lessons myself. We become experts in what we teach and use tools to help our students learn. I was able to bring some of the technology tools to second grade and share them with my team. Google Classroom is a must for me to post lessons for my students especially during math centers. All of my second graders are able to log in and use Google Classroom to access their work during one of the math centers. The students help each other with everything in our classroom. They are constantly communicating with each other which helps them with learning. Sometimes they teach me a thing or two about technology. This week I was able to get all of my students on Prodigy and the students are enjoying this game. I have to admit that I like battling as much or more than my students.
I enjoyed the video you shared about how Tokyo will use technology to transform the 20202 Olympics. It's hard to believe that they are using cell phone gold to create medals for the winners. What's next in technology?
What an AMAZING link! I LOVE the Olympics. So excited for Japan to be testing these types of technology. It leads me to the question, who decided to spend all this money on these potentially revolutionizing technologies? How does the citizenry feel about this money being spent? So often post-Olympic venues go downhill (no winter Olympic pun intended). It will be interesting to see how these technologies hold up over time.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned technologies developing only after time, errors, and revisions. This is what is so hard in a classroom environment I find. My students are currently involved in a project that eventually will lead to voting for "the best design". When we finish and have a debriefing session, we brainstorm ways to make their work better. But this is as far as we get...there isn't any time to remake the work and do it better. I wish we could. That time constraint is always so difficult to overcome.
I love the video you attached to your post this week! It is amazing to think of what will be happening at the olympics this year. I teach about Ancient Rome in third grade so we talk a lot about the Olympics! So much has changed and will continue to change throughout our lifetimes!
ReplyDeleteThe main take away on your Olympics video, is the importance of environmental issues and how this, a real world problem, can and should be part of the PICKLE we are instilling in our kids. Designing takes on such importance, as we get the kids to look up and realize that the world around them needs them to be PICKLEish!
ReplyDelete