As you gear up for a new school year I encourage you to watch this video clip, Pay Attention, at least once and reflect upon its message. You might find it beneficial to review Karl Fisch’s Shift Happens before you watch this video.
Pay Attention
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I have been a stay at home mom for eight years and I am clearly out of the loop when it comes to technology in the classroom. This video gives me so many ideas. Through technology the learning possibilities are endless. I wish there was all of this technology available when I was in school. Using computers, ipods, and text makes learning a lot more fun. Thanks for sharing.
I think intergrating technology into the classromm is a great idea. The children of today have evolved into a whole new way of life. Using computers, ipods, text message, and etc., will grasp their attention. I have found that the traditional way of teaching has become very boring to most students. Lecture just doesn’t graps their attention anymore, so why not intergrat with something they are becoming so use too.
I found the statistic of a child asking a question ONLY every ten hours quite a shock. Also, being over 50 years of age, I find computer technology a tad difficult, but fully admit that “Google it” has become a way of life. Having been raised in a small town, an answer to a certain question may have required a trip to a regional library. Now, most answers are at your finger tips. Saves on gas, too.
The first couple of times I watched this video, I thought about classrooms in general. Now I begin to think about this message in terms of my child’s education. I am question the use of technology in her classroom. Why isn’t technology being incorporated into the lessons? As a parent and educator, what can I do to change what is going on in her classroom? This video has inspired me to have a discussion with her teacher and ask what I can do.
I totally agree about reaching kids where they are. I watched rap videos on youtube in order to teach my English class about pronouns and proper grammar. I have never had so many kids interested in an assignment as I did the day we listened to Plies and dissected his lyrics…chris
“If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” Very interesting. I am not yet teaching, but some of the ideas presented in this video seem doable. However, to make an assumption about how many students have cell phones and ipods is quite a leap. In a perfect world where socio-economic status is not a factor podcast and the cell phone assignment in the video would be great, but where I live there are many students whose parents can’t provide them with the basics like paper, pencils and shoes, muchless cell phones and ipods. The tech needs to be within the classroom first, then available outside the classroom for with the means to access it.
That video was very inspiring, and definitely allowed me to reflect on my own technological experiences. I am only 24 years old, but I can remember being in elementary school and being completely clueless about computers. We took our “typing class” in second or third grade on old-school typewriters! When I was about 10 or so, my family got a computer and the Prodigy program for the Internet. I hardly ever used it because it was so foriegn to me. When we had the option to either handwrite or type papers during middle school, I always handwrote mine.
I have older friends with teenaged kids. It’s absolutely amazing to see how much these kids know about technology!
Technology is exciting. It’s hard for me to believe that WHEN I WAS IN SCHOOL (not that long ago) technology took somewhat of a backburner during instruction.
Although I don’t teach yet, I hope to be able to engage my students constantly by introducing “hip” and “cool” ways to learn.
Wow!! It is amazing how the classroom has changed since I was a student in Elementary, Middle, and High School. I think it is so important for teachers to teach their students on a level that is interesting to them. This helps get the students involved and helps to develop their skills. These are skills they will use now and later in life. It is great to see what all has become available to aid teachers in the classroom and aid students in learning. I believe if all of this technology had been used when I was a child I would have retained more because I would have paid attention! Children need to enjoy learning!
This video was so interesting. I am entering my second year of teaching, and hoepfully I will be able to start incorporating different aspects in my classroom. Like most teachers, I just need a little training. I use this stuff all the time, but I can I make it meaningful and educational in the classroom? I liked the new WWW Whatever, Whenever, Wherever. And, I too love the idea of a cell phone pop quiz. (I will have to work around my school’s complete ban of cell phones!) I also want to incorporate more use of ipods/mp3 players. I am really excited about all of this!
What a good video. The part about texting a pop quiz to a student was great. “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” is surely a refreshing attitude.
I found the Video Paying Attention very enlightning. With so much technology around us as teachers we should be able to find better ways to engage our students. However, teachers need ongoing training and constant interaction with integration specialists in order to develop technology integrated lessons.
I like this video because it really emphasizes the importance of technology in the classroom. So many schools have banned cell phones in the building because of the negative things students can do with them. Why not teach students all of the positive things that cell phones (and other forms of technology like iPODS) can do? If you teach using text messaging, it will give students a new form of learning. Who knew you could teach with text messaging? It seems like such a brilliant idea. Plus, it will give students a chance to use a form of technology they are familiar with. It might also give them more enthusiasm for learning. I can’t wait to learn more about integrating new and exciting forms of technology into the classroom because I want my students to be able to use a familiar tool for learning–one that they might use outside of the classroom as well!
I really enjoyed the film. It is amazing how much we use technology and “need” technology. I am so happy to take this class. I teach for Shelby County Schools and have signed up for dozens of technology in-services only to find myself bored to tears. They only teach us how to use the programs and devices but they do not provide us with the strategies and methods to successfully integrate it into our complex and demanding curriculum. I was born into this information age and I love using technology at home and the classroom, however, I find myself pulling out my hair trying to find ways or time to come up with innovative activities that incorporate technology. I created a PowerPoint presentation last year that was in a quiz format that taught and questioned students about differentiating real and make-believe. My students could hardly contain their joy and enthusiasm. I love that feeling and am “jonesing” for another chance to evoke it in my future classes. Thanks for opening my eyes to great ideas and different ways of looking at things.
This is an interesting short film. It reminds me of the Shift Happens film. I would just like to comment about the podcasting. I took a workshop during one of our in-services for Shelby County on podcasting and I really enjoyed it. If you teach for the county, our Macs come with all of the technology to do them. I really want to incorporate podcasts in my Spanish curriculum this year for projects and speaking grades because it is so difficult to reach all of the students in a crowded room of 30. This is something the kids can do on their own and would enjoy doing for class. I can then keep their podcasts forever to use later on in the classroom.
Great video! It is scary to think of how much time we spend watching television. I love technology and am learning new ways to adapt it for good through your class. I am old school though in the hope that reading books doesn’t completely get lost in the transition. I guess soon that we will have to let our students read all their books online with pop-up pictures on the Internet.
This was one powerful video!!! It made me stop and realize just how technical this world is that we live in. As an educator, it is hard not to take what is being said about technology and apply it on a daily basis in your class. Lastly, it boldly states that we (educators) have a lot of work to do when it comes to preparing our students for the future!
Great video! I think it’s great that the use of technology is growing so fast especially in the educational relm, though I am like Megan B. I am very slow when it comes to technology, especially computers. I just started to really have to learn when I became an office manager at my current job. I was also very worried about taking my first online class. I find it can be a lot harder on the older generations, as well… My mother is a junior kindergarten teacher and her school has just started using email and implementing the computer for other various uses such as newletters, etc. She is nearly brought to tears everytime she has to try to figure out how to work her computer. Teaching the use of computers early will help with this. It is somewhat sad to me though because we keep coming up with ideas to replace one-on-one, face-to-face conversation.
Wow- that was great. I can’t wait to learn ways to use cool technology to teach and engage students. I am already learning a lot my first assignment, and the semester has only just begun! Cool, man. =D
It seems like there could be a good balance between utilizing technology in the classroom and relying too heavily on it. There are some basic skills that can’t be developed through technology, and likewise, there are many projects that are enhanced and become more exciting to students once you add the technology aspect.
When watching this short video, I could relate to everything that it stated. My sister is 16 and many times I feel that I am in the dark about what is going on with technology, yet I am only 22. Sad but true! Since I started college four years ago I have seen a change in even the way college classes are taught. Most of our homework is done with quizzes on-line and via e-mail. Another disturbing factor is that a child will go for ten hours at a time and only ask one question. We are living in a cell phone era. I know mine is at my side most of the time and losing it would only cause hysteria in my life. I would not be able to connect with anyone for the day or even call someone. Who memorizes phone numbers anymore?
I found this video to be really interesting. I think a lot of people (including myself) do not realize the large place that technology holds in our lives. Yet, it is really amazing that so many schools are not utilizing these awesome resources. When I become a teacher, I hope that I can integrate technology effectively into the activities and learning of my students. I believe that technologies such as podcasts can be a great way to grab the students’ attention and that these types of things will become the norm in schools in the not-so-distant future.
I have been a stay at home mom for five years. Technology has changed during those years. As I look back on my past methods of teaching I see so many improvements I can make. I agree that students should be engaged in the learnig process. I make take some creative thinking, but the children will benefit when we as teachers take thier interests and integrate them into the lesson. I look forward to seeing the new possibilities and using them when I return to teaching. I
I am always trying to keep my students off their cell phones in class, but never thought of how I could use the cell phone as a tool for keeping the students engaged in material outside the school day. I am going to look into this possibility further.
Krista
Certainly a YouTube worth socializing! Nice find. This is exactly what is forming in my head as a disertation – how pedagogy is dying in light of technology and more self-directedness is expected of learners, whatever their age. Malcolm Knowles’ tenets regarding andragogy are finding themselves a home in K-12 and we are remiss if we don’t capitalize on what this means for our STEM initiatives.
Thanks for the comment, graceMark. I took a look at your blog and noticed that we share some common interests. Perhaps we’ll see more of each other.
All the best,
Clif
I teach fifth grade in NC. We’re heading into something called the “Impact Model” this year in which we are to more proactively collaborate with media, specialist, and technology teachers to create meaningful, interdisciplinary units that employ a high degree of technology – well higher than what has been employed so far, anyway. Hopefully I’ll be a little more on top of the game this year and have students doing more than just using the internet for research. Thanks for the post.