Blog Assignment #2- Thoughts on a few short films

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Did You Know 3.0 by Karl Fisch
After watching this brief film, I feel like I am in a race against technology and there is no way to win.  I remember vaguely a little bit about the internet when I was a senior in high school.  I didn't understnd it or have a clue what "www" meant.  I didn't actually use the internet until college.  Boy have times changed.
This film gave me a sense of excitement at the leaps and bounds that are made daily in technological advancement, but at the same time, I see an uncertain future that is so unlike anything we are familiar with today.  I have to remind myself that this exponential growth cannot be sustained.  Just as in biology, there are limiting factors and we will reach a carrying capacity. There is no way to comprehend exactly what the human mind is capable of, or the computer for that matter.  One thing I firmly believe is that just because it can be done does not mean that it always should.
Mr. Winkle Wakes! by Mathew Needleman:
Hilarious!  This video is really cute and perfectly displays the fact that technology in schools is just NOT THERE!   I taught at a public high school in Mobile and we had one computer lab for about 2000 kids.   You can imagine how many times a class got to use it. It has only been a couple of years since I have taught and I have never used a smartboard in a classroom because our school only had one or two on the whole campus.  We just don't have the resources or funding to keep schools up to date.  However as educators we still have to provide our kids with technological knowledge and tools to make it in this world.
I thought about my grandfather as I was watching this video.  He wasn't asleep for 100 years, but he did live through each of the changes that Mr. Winkle saw, just not all at once.  I don't think any other generation will experience the types of advancements that he did in his lifetime. To me, it is hard to imagine how different things must have been for him as a child.  The interesting thing is that my grandchildren will probably be saying the same thing one day.
The Importance of Creativity :Sir Ken Robinson
I could listen to Sir Robinson for hours.  His insight about how our schools are designed to make us outgrow our creative instincts was very informative.  As a mother, I couldn't help but think about my own children's educational experience, which has been limited to pre-k at this point. I unfortunately can identify with the mindset that mistakes are bad things and my kids are learning that now.  At their ages, I should be encouraging and celebrating all of their attempts, regardless of right or wrong.  They are impressionable and eager.  They aren't yet afraid of being wrong and I hope that I can preserve that fearlessness for as long as possible.  As Sir Robinson said, "they aren't afraid to have a go at it."
I was really struck by his story of the choreographer.  Her experience exemplifies so many cases that we all have come across or will at some point in our careers.  She was one of the lucky ones whose parents were advised by an open-minded, intelligent person.  Some children aren't so lucky, and just get "medicated".  I think as educators, parents, and just plain people of society we should all feel the urgency to try and salvage the creative instincts of our children and not "strip-mine" their minds.
Vicki Davis:Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
This teacher should serve as inspiration for us all.  You don't have to be a technology teacher to adopt the same beliefs and practices that she explains in this video.  I think we all feel the pressure of needing and wanting to know it all before we step foot in the classroom.  However, speaking from experience, you most certainly do not come close to knowing it all.  You will probably be teaching a class that you have never even had yourself in some cases. But, you learn as you go and it works.

Ms. Davis is obviously an exceptional teacher.  Her methods of instruction are good examples for us all to learn from.  I am envious of someone that can get so much out of her students.  Technology is becoming more integrated into our classrooms by the day even though some schools have no more than a few computers to work with.  As educators, we have to follow Mrs. Davis' example and push our kids to empower themselves and provide them with that opportunity. If we don't, as we learned in the first video, "Did You Know?", we will quickly be left behind.