Blog Post 2

" Teaching in the 21st Century" Samantha West
The Video “ Teaching in the 21st Century” had many good points in it. How will teaching in the 21st century be? That is a good question to ask. We can see how far we have come today from when they first started teaching, and we think that we are doing good where we are. The video pointed out many websites that students can use to get information or help with their lessons. Such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Bing just to name a few. When I first heard this I thought that it would never work, but now I have noticed that if you do not have any other information you can always check Facebook or Twitter to possibly get an answer.
The video also points out everything we can do with the internet. I do not know a child twelve years of age and older who does not have a cell phone, laptop, or a type of tablet. With any of these devices they can browse the internet , and make better grades while doing it. They can do extra- curricular activities for class. Such as experiments, twittering, and blogs just to name a few. The down side to all this freedom is the students taking advantage of the internet. there will be that one student that will plagiarize, copyright, and slander, but should we take it away from all the students then, no. The use of the internet in school in this way could be missed used, but it is our responsibility to teach our students right from wrong.
The last thing in the video that really spoke to me was the difference from entertainment and engagement. “Entertainment is passive, engagement is active”. This is very true. When I think of the word entertain I think of a get together or a party. We always want to entertain our guest. The video states that entertainment is short-term like the party I mentioned. Our guest would stay for a little while and then they would go home. Engagement is long-term. We want our students to leave the class and go home still talking about the topic discussed. The video was not what I was expecting at all, but it was interesting. It really opened up my eyes and helped me see what I should be teaching in the classroom.
Group Member Javious Williams " The Network Student"
My reaction from the video “The Networked Student”, is that this course is more of a independent learning course, which requires students to learn and teach themselves as much as possible and use critical thinking skills. The Network Student course is similar to the EDM310 course that I am currently taking because it is a blended course which means students attend class on certain days and the other days students complete their assignments through the internet. Any student who take courses similar to EDM310 or Networked course must be computer literate and allow as much time as possible to learn, study, and complete assignments on time.
Another thing I noticed about “The Networking Student” video is that the teacher almost never lectures, so majority of the assignments are done through some type of technology networking source. In the video “The Networking Students”, the teacher is a student connectivism, a theory that learning occurs apart of a social network of many diverse connections. The teacher in this course empowers her students to take control of their own learning and make new connections with others strengthening the learning process. Overall I think the purpose of this course is to require students to think and be independent educational learners, therefore once they become teachers in the 21st century they will know how to teach their own students and answer any question the students may have.
To sum up the question “why does the networked student even need a teacher?”, is because the teacher is the one who teaches the students how to build the network and take advantage of learning opportunities. The teacher offer guidance when the students get stuck, show students how to communicate properly and ask respectfully for help from experts, and teach students how to differentiate between good and bad information. I really feel that classes similar to the class in the video is a very helpful way to teach students because it allows them to use critical thinking and problem solving.
The third member of our group had not done his assignment by this time, so I am unable to post what his thoughts are. I am going out of town for a couple days with no internet access so I have to publish my blog post early. Sorry for the complications.