Blog Assignment # 2

On Did You Know 3.0- The John Strange Version 2012
John Strange made his own version of "Did You Know? 3.0", originally by Fisch, McLeod, and Brenman. It explained how fast technology is advancing and how information is so quickly outdating itself. There were a lot of little-known facts in this video. Although I am familiar with the fact that Asia is rapidly growing in size and intelligence in comparison with the United States, I was unaware of the extent. It is alarming to find out that there are more honors students in India than there are students here. As for the amount of English-speaking Chinese outnumbering native English-speakers in the rest of the world, I had no idea. I guess that is the point of "Did You Know?". All of the facts in this video are fascinating, and I liked the personalized feel of the EDM 310 version. Getting to know not only most of the facts in the original version, but facts about students in EDM 310 was interesting to me. For instance, that on average, students send about 95 texts per day, which takes an hour and sixteen minutes (Strange).
On Did You Know 3.0-The Original Version
I also watched the original version of Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod's, and there were some things not mentioned in the John Strange version that appealed to me as well. For example,"by 2013, a supercomputer will be built that exceeds the computational capabilities of the human brain"(Fisch, McLeod, Brenman). Strange's version was more directed toward educators. Another amusing fact was that there are five times as many words in the English language today that there were in Shakespeare's time (Fisch, McLeod, Brenman).

About "Mr. Winkle Wakes"
Mr. Winkle is a popular tall tale about a man that sleeps for a hundred years. In this video, he awakes and is taken to a hospital, where he sees technology that is unfamiliar to him. He later walks down the street and comes to a school. He is relieved to find that education is just as it was before he went to sleep. This is terrifying because children is modern schools should have access to higher technology and not just sit in a classroom and take notes on a lecture. Mr. Winkle notices a computer like the ones in the hospital in the back of the room, but it isn't being used. This makes you think about today's education. My mother teaches fourth grade, and this year teachers in her school are using Ipads to help integrate technology into their curriculum. "Bring your own technology" is designed so that students may bring to class things like smartphones, tablets, and computers to help them learn. This is a positive thing as long as it is not taken advantage of and/or used for something other than a learning tool.
Education has come a long way from a hundred years ago, and that should be evident in our classrooms. Students should be able to use modern technology to help learn and understand material, rather than listening to a lecture and memorizing information only to forget it once the exam has passed. Mr. Winkle has opened educators' eyes and proven that advancement in teaching approaches and the use of technology is necessary to benefit students and give them the maximum level of education possible.
About Ken Robinson's TED Speech on Creativity in Schools
Ted Robinson is a creativity expert with an interest in education. He argues that everyone is interested in education, whether it be from a student or a teacher standpoint. Children are educated based on academic standards, with hardly any focus on creativity or artistic ability. Although academics are important, there are many professions (i.e. dancing, singing, acting, band, etc.) that require a focus on the arts. TED is a non profit organization that is focused on conferences that spread ideas "worth spreading". Robinson gave this speech in February 2006. He gives the example of Gillian Lynne, the choreographer of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. She struggled in school due to the fact that she couldn't sit still, symptoms of which were most likely ADHD. Ken Robinson notes that some people would have just prescribed her with medication to help her pay attention rather than taking her to audition for ballet school.
When students are young, they are told they can grow up to become whatever they want to be. But as they grow older, they are steered more in the direction of practical careers like education, medicine, or communications. Some students do not live up to their creative potential because they end up in the wrong field for fear of not being able to succeed. I think Robinson has a very good point and I agree with him completely that students should be able to focus not only on academic aspects of their education, but creative as well.
Response to "A Day Made of Glass 2"

The technology in this video is fascinating to me. The fact that glass can contain the computer technology that a tablet, computer, or smartphone does is astounding. Not only is it interesting to know that so much can fit into such a thin object, but sharing with other glass through the tablet is a really neat idea. When the little girl in the video's alarm goes off, her window becomes transparent to let the sunlight in, and she's able to pick out her outfit on her closet door. It is not surprising that technology has advanced this far, and that our children will be so much more in sync with things as complex as this. It is exciting that one day I might be teaching with these magnificent tools. Corning is the corporation responsible for creating these glass tablets and other tools.
With this information and technology displayed, it is clear that Mr. Winkle's perception of the modern-day classroom is not entirely accurate. However, technology is slowly becoming readily available and has not made it to the point shown in the glass video. A majority of the schools in the United States have a long way to go before they can afford to purchase such technologically advanced teaching tools. On the other hand, most schools have acquired some form of new technology, such as smartboards and elmo projectors, etc.
Mr. Winkle would be very intimidated if he were to walk into the school in "A Day Made of Glass 2", but the rest of us I think would be relieved to know that a lot has changed over the course of a hundred years. Students are not forced to sit in a classroom and listen to an obscenely long lecture with no breaks or group activities. With the "bring your own technology" idea circulating in Alabama's county schools this year, students will be allowed to take notes on tablets, laptops, and other electronic devices.