In the video
"Mr. Dancealot" the central message seems to be that hands on learning can be a very useful tool. It is a dance class, yet they are looking at powerpoint slides in a classroom. They were unable to fully learn how to do the dances because they never actually got to participate. How is someone suppose to learn to dance without actually dancing? I do think that engaging students is the best way for them to learn. The students in the video were falling asleep halfway through the lecture. Engaging students can help prevent their minds from wandering. I am sure in a dance class the diagrams he used would have been helpful if the students had had a chance to actively learn by trying the steps while in class.
In the video
"Teaching in the 21st Century" Kevin Roberts addresses what it means to teach in the 21st century. He comes to the conclusion that teachers are no longer needed for information and facts. "Teachers are no longer to source of knowledge, we are the filter." What he is saying is that teachers are needed to teach students how to use the resources they have. Students need to be taught critical thinking.
"Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action." They have all these resources they can use at anytime. Roberts is saying they need to be shown how to productively use them. I have to agree with what Roberts is saying. In this day and age one can look up anything they please on the internet. As roberts said "It means we need to rethink the tools we use and the types of problems we ask students to solve." Students need to know how to actively apply all this information they have access to. This affects me as an educator by forcing me to be knowledgeable not only about the subject I teach, but also how it can applied to real world situations. It will make me mindful in teaching critical thinkers instead of just information regurgitators.
In the video
"The Networked Student" the author addresses the concept of connectivism. Connectivism is "The theory that learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse networks, connections, and ties." Students use many different tools and resources in order to learn about a specific topic. The teacher does not necessarily speak on the subject but rather teaches the student how to use tools in order to learn about the subject. I do not know if completely agree with this concept. Yes, students should be taught how to utilize tools and resources as much as possible. I do not agree with leaving the learning of actual subject of the class solely up to the students. Teaching should have a good balance of utility of tools and on the subject.
In the video
"Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts" the main concept is "connecting students to the world." I think that giving students the chance to engage in other cultures and other ideas is important, especially in this day and age. Technology along with connection with the world is something that is going to soon become the center of our lives. Students need these skills so that they can be better prepared for the future. Future business owners need to be prepared to deal with other countries using technology.
The idea of
"Flipping the Classroom" is new to me. "Allows direct instruction to take place at home." For a teacher it does seem like it could be helpful in the fact that in class time would not be wasted on basic instruction. I am skeptical on how much the students would really pay attention to these videos or even watch them. They are already going to school eight hours a day. To ask them to sit and watch a video and hopefully understand the concept well enough to apply it the next day seems like a bit of a reach.
