Blog Assignment #13

Back to the Future

"Back to the Future," is a video made by an elementary school teacher named Brian Crosby. I really enjoyed this video, and I think thats partially due to my new appreciation for technology because of EDM310. Mr. Crosby uses technology in his classroom to help his students become more interactive. I love what Mr. Crosby did with his classroom. He didn't just teach his class, he let them teach themselves too. My favorite part of the video was the balloon experiment. I love that he incorporated so many subjects around this one topic. I thought this was such a cool experiment, so I can't even imagine how excited his class was! They got to see a giant balloon get filled with helium, and then watch it take off with a camera. The students were able to watch it in real time with Google maps, and then they blogged about it. Mr. Crosby turned learning something that may have been boring for some students into something that is fun for everyone.

Another thing I really liked about the video was all of the different experiments. I remember looking so forward to Science class when we would have experiments. The only problem was that it rarely happened. Making the classroom an interactive place where students look forward to going can enhance the learning experience dramatically. Mr. Crosby's video gave me so many ideas that I want to implement in my classroom one day. It's so inspirational how much passion he has for his students, and what he does.

A Vision of Students Today

The video, "A Vision of Students Today" by Michael Wesch, is about an average student's feelings about college. A document was made in Google Docs that was sent out asking the students what it's like being a student today. There were 367 edits made to the document by the time they were finished. College is so expensive, most students start off their careers in so much debt. Students don't get one on one time with professors either. I think three out of my five teachers know my name, but that is because I try to make it a point for them to know me, so I don't get lost in the crowd. Students are also spending so much money on text books that are sometimes never needed in classes. I could completely relate to almost every cue card that was held up in the video. Especially the one that said, "I will be $20,000 in debt after I graduate", this will most definitely be true for me.

From a teacher and a student perspective technology is key to success in the classroom. Teachers should use the free tools that are available online to try and get students more involved. The more interaction students have with stuff that is considered "cool" the higher chances we as educators will have engaging with them. I think the main point of this video is that through technology students can be way more engaged and more passionate about going to class. Filling in as many people as possible into a room to watch one teacher at the front is crazy. Why not use technology, and make the classroom a more interactive place?