iphoto

I am not a computer savvy person, I know this I have enough trouble with my PC at home and when I sit down in front of a Mac I am completely technology challenged; so this class at first, made me a little nervous, but then we were introduced to iphoto and I was completely comfortable.  This tool put my mind at ease when it comes to the topic of Macs.  It can have such a positive impact on a classroom, it can be used as an amazing teaching tool and it’s really easy to use.  I also thought that it would be a great tool if talking about body heat and thermal temperatures, there was the feature where you could make the photo look like it was taken using a thermal camera; this could be a great way to introduce temperature to a class.  Talking about how everything has a different temperature and that is a way to show the differences.  The iphoto was such a simple tool that can be used in so many different ways in a classroom, not only does it take still photos but it takes a series of pictures that can show slight changes between frames, or the mirror image to show the person side by side.  It offers a visual aide that can have such a great impact on a lesson using such a simple idea, photographs.  It gives a topic or lesson a personal touch that a textbook can’t. Students can research a different landmark and using the iphoto they can pose standing with said landmark or environment.  It can give students a sense of connection to the place even if they have never been there before. Rather than looking at a picture of the Eiffel Tower they can pose right next to it using iphoto, this gives a connection that other programs can’t.   

Ken Robinson Take 2

Sir Ken Robinson Bring on the Learning Revolution!

            This speech by Ken Robinson was probably my favorite TED video that we were assigned to watch this week.  I found that after watching his previous talk that I really enjoyed his humor that he peppered through the talks and how he was so human with his thoughts and stories.  He talks about his family, his own experience and the direction that he believes the world of education should be going.  This 2^nd TED video from Ken Robinson continued on his ideas of encouraging human talents because we are in a crisis of losing those human resources through not using them.  The speech is focused on how to create a revolution in the world of education not just evolving it to fit with the times because evolution does not make it new it just changes it in certain places.  We have to begin to trust what we do not know, go into the darkness towards what will be a brighter future, but too many people fear the unknown and are not willing to take that leap of faith towards a better educational world. 

We as a society are very used to staying in our comfort zone.  If we are not willing to step outside of what is comfortable than we will never be able to change the way we teach and what we teach; in order for this revolution to work there needs to be people who are willing to make a trail where there was not one previously.  Robinson talks about how education is a track towards the rest of our lives, but who is creating that track, is it a group of highly educated, well paid people who are deciding what will be necessary for the rest of the student’s lives? How are they supposed to know what is best for the next generation if they are so set in their own ways and how they believe education should be taught?  With the generation that is in school now they will never understand what it means to listen to a tape or ever know what it was like to watch a VHS and actually have to rewind the tape to the beginning, the world now is changing at such a rapid pace and to believe that the education “track” will be able to hold every student’s mind is just absurd.  I know that when I was in school the “track” was elementary school, then middle school, high school, and then college.  This is not the track for everyone just look at someone like Bill Gates, he jumped off that track and hasn’t looked back since. There is talk of the school system operating on a fast food model, where everything is made exactly the same but according to Robinson we must move away from this fast food model and towards a more organic process.  As a teacher we need to prepare our students for the future which is unknown but certain and also prepare them for the present.    

The Death of Creativity

            I actually began watching Ken Robinson’s 2^nd video but within the first minute he referenced his previous talk with TED, so I decided I should probably begin with that video.  So I settled in front of my computer and began watching as Ken Robinson began to tell me how schools were responsible for the death of creativity in the minds of the students.  Right off the bat he had my attention. He did not claim to know everything about everything, but rather he told the audience that he did not know everything and no one knows what is going to happen in the future so how are going to prepare our students for the future. The educational system is so worried about preparing its students for the future and the world after school that they never really take the time to allow students to sit back and enjoy life now; they are too focused on what is going to happen when they grow up.  The future is not now and we need to educate children for now.            

            Robinson then spoke about the talents that are found in students and how those talents are all too often not harnessed but are considered to be a hinder to the educational system.  He asks why we do not teach dance in the same way we teach math and it is because society does not place as high a value on the arts and dancing as they do on Math and literacy.  Being creative will not prepare you for the real world, this is the message that is being subliminally relayed to the youth of the world through the under emphasis on creativity in schools.  Robinson states that we grow/get educated out of being creative and that is a shame because there are so many talented students who are lost because of the lack of focus towards creativity in the classroom. Personally, I do not have an artistic bone in my body, I lack all rhythm and I can’t sing to save my life; but I truly believe that if during my elementary school years if I had the opportunity to work on my creativity and have in encouraged I might be more willing to get up and dance in front of a group or paint a picture that is displayed for the community to see. I never had the chance in my elementary school because we did not have an arts program until I was in the 6^th grade and so I’ll never know how creative I could actually be.  Near the end of the speech Robinson said something that I really think sums up the way we should educate he said “our task is to educate their (the students) whole being, so they can face this future.” We need to prepare them for the unknown but we must also teach them in all areas of life, not just in literacy and mathematics.   

Aimee Mullins and her 12 pairs of legs

I’m not going to lie, before watching this incredible woman speak I always had the same picture in my mind of what a prosthetic leg looked like and just give you a picture in your mind it was the plastic and metal ones that you see on TV when watching a special about a soldier who lost his leg while fighting in a war.  The legs are bulking and only really meant for walking or running, they don’t look like a real leg, but the person can lead a normal life with this hunk of metal attached to them.  But as the video began I was a bit taken a back when they showed Aimee Mullins walking around in a short dress with her legs exposed and they actually looked like legs; it never even crossed my mind that they could create these prosthetic legs that actually looked like legs, I know that it was silly of me to not realize that this was possible but I’ve never seen them so my mind only envisioned them as the metal and plastic things. 

After my initial shock wore off I started to listen to what she had to say and it made a lot of sense. She spoke about how she talked to groups of children and she could imagine what the teachers told their students before coming in to listen to her speak, they would warn them about her legs and how they shouldn’t ask questions or stare, but rather they should just sit back and be polite.  That is what is wrong with the educational system, we push down the curiosity; so rather then start off her talk with that awkward elephant in the room of her fake legs she invited only the students in for 2 minutes without adults.  She eliminated the limitations that would hold back students from asking real questions that they had.  Without the teachers and adults in the room the students were able to really express their thoughts and opinions, this lack of limits created a safe zone where they felt comfortable with Aimee and were willing to shout out any answer to any of her questions because there was not their fear of being wrong or being considered rude. Society is teaching children that people with disabilities are less capable then those without, but Aimee shows that you can lead a completely normal and inspiring life with the handicap. 

Aimee Mullins has had the opportunity to combine two areas of education, technology and the arts, to create her own way of living with her 12 pairs of legs.  She has learned that through the power of creativity she can reach out to more people than she ever thought possible.  She has learned to embrace the curiosity and the questions because it is through the questions that students ask her that they learn how to explore the unknown.  What I really took away from this TED talk was that creativity and curiosity are what really drive the human mind and the problem that is faced in so many schools is that those elements are all too frequently pushed to the back burner in favor of math and English, we teach students to fear the unknown rather than embrace it and the endless possibilities of their mind. One quote really struck me towards the end of Aimee’s speech she said, “To discover full potential in our humanity, we need to celebrate those heartbreaking strengths and those glorious disabilities that we have.” This means that we have to teach to the whole child, we must understand that each student possesses something worthwhile and it is the teacher’s job to pull that out and allow the world to see what that student has to offer.