Blog Post #10

Tom Johnson- Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home
     I really enjoyed reading this post and trying to figure out its message. In the post the two faculty members discuss the consequences of allowing children to take home pencils and use them at home. Gertrude argues that students who use pencils at home have lower standardized test scores. However, to counter that argument the point is made that in lower-income schools, students come in with a mentality that pencils are to be used for entertainment. The low test scores really have nothing to do with students using pencils at home. One quote that really stood out to me was this: "There's probably some learning that's taking place that we don't realize." I think this quote applies to many activities that children participate in. There are important educational ideas to be learned behind every activity, regardless of how significant the activity itself may actually seem. I think the same applies with technology, if we give students the time to just play around with technology on their own, they are going to be able to teach themselves and they will learn a lot of information about technology from it. I think this post really ties in with the video from our Additional Assignment #2.
Morgan Bayda's Post
    I thought that Morgan's post was really eye opening, and I really enjoyed the video that she included as well. She definitely described some scenarios that were relatable to my own experiences here at University of South Alabama. One of these scenarios would be when she discussed not being able to keep her brain focused during lectures. Sometimes we unfortunately have teachers that are just not concerned with keeping students interested in the material, and it becomes very simple to just drift off. I do believe that I am getting a good education here at South and as a whole I don't feel like I am wasting 4 years. However, I do think that some of my classes and experiences could have been better, more informational. A lot of the times I feel like I am taking a "cop-out" class just to get the credits needed to move on. Like Morgan, I feel like classes like EDM 310 are very beneficial in preparing students to handle technology and do better research. I think part of this sense of accomplishment comes from the fact that we have to do a lot of things for ourselves and figure them out using just the Instruction Manual. I have said it before and I'll say it again, I think that hands on learning is one of the best methods for retaining information and really getting a good grip on the materials being taught. 
     The video included in this post was of a student named Dan who dropped out of the University of Nebraska because he felt like going to school was getting in the way of him actually learning. He discusses how the universities in America are failing to advance and improve while the rest of the world is changing. I think this ties in with what I stated previously, if schools aren't going to get their students as involved in the material as possible, students are going to feel like they're wasting their time sitting behind closed doors when they could be out in the world actually doing stuff. 
Two Questions That Can Change Your Life
      I really, really enjoyed this video. Even though it wasn't very long, it brought a powerful message to the table and really got you thinking. The two questions presented in the video were: 1) What is my sentence? and 2) Was I better today than yesterday? Everyone should have a sentence about who they are and what they are doing in their life. We should use this sentence to navigate our lives and stay focused. I don't know that I can really say what my sentence is right now, I still need more time to figure out exactly where I am going.  However, I can say that I hope my sentence will be " I am doing my best to keep students focused on the positive outcomes of every situation: good or bad." Or at least something close to that. For the second question, I try to be better every day but it can often be a struggle. Some days I can really tell myself confidently that yes, I have been better. But we all must realize that we are human and humans make mistakes, we can't always expect to go forward in everything we do- but we can certainly put our best efforts forward.