The Ted Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story” is an incredibly inspiring conversation about how culture is perceived around the world. So many times, especially as Americans we get caught up in everything that we are doing and only see a small portion of what goes on outside this country. The advancement of technology can help to increase globalization and to raise awareness of more than one story from countries other than the U.S. People in general have the tendency to form an opinion about whole cultural groups or even continents when they only have one view of what is really going on there. This talk made me think about my experience living in Ecuador when I was in college. Before and after I spent time in Ecuador, whenever I tell people about my experience they always tell me how brave I was for going there and how they heard that all countries in South America are dirty and full of poor people. While I did see many poor people during my stay in Ecuador I also had the chance to engage my host family in meaningful conversations about their government and how the Ecuadorian people are trying to undo the racism against their indigenous populations. I also saw extremely wealthy and successful businesses and infrastructure built, beautiful national parks and heritage world language sites. All of these things are never mentioned when I see South American countries in the news. All we see is crime, political malfunction and natural disaster. This Ted talk made me think about always continuing to not only share my own story but to actively look for different perspectives in all things so that I can better understand the people that I interact with.
Adichie, C. N. (2009). The Danger of a Single Story :TED Talks. Retrieved May 05, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg To watch the Ted Talk click HERE. After reading the short and sweet book, Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon I find myself again inspired to put more effort into social media sites and to maybe even share a few of my ideas online. I completely agree with Kleon that there are many ways to meet people, share ideas, and make new connections online and being in this class has opened my eyes to many of these things. So now the question I am asking myself is why do I never want to participate? Everyday I have to force myself to get on Twitter and find a few things to post and I never feel the urge to reach out and contact someone personally that I found online. Maybe it is because I have been a visitor on the internet for so long that it is hard to view it as a way to interact with people. Or maybe it’s because I am secretly introverted and want to do everything quietly by myself. Who knows? After reading this book I feel compelled to once again try and make an effort to create a presence online. I love reading people’s blogs and using their ideas in the classroom so I know I should share my ideas as well. I think my hesitation could stem from my lack of experience in the classroom. I am just starting out in my teaching career so who am I to tell people what they should try or what worked for me? This book made me think that even though I am still learning that I should share my work regardless. The whole idea of sharing before something is completed is very foreign to me and to many people. Like the book mentions several times, no one wants to admit that their work was not perfect the first time they tried it hardly anyone wants to admit how long they actually spent on something. This is one thing that I am really going to try and stop doing. Who cares if I do not do everything perfectly the first time? I should welcome suggestions because they will in the end help me to make what I am doing better. It is very hard to accept criticism of something you are passionate about but in the end it will only make you better at what you do. I am going to make a conscious effort to share my work and my ideas and also to ask for advice and ideas instead of trying to hide everything I do until I know for sure it works. I think this will help me to become a better educator and a better person as I move towards my future career.
Kleon, A. (2014). Show your work!: 10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered. New York, NY: Workman Publishing. Chapter 7
Quote- “They are homo sapiens, homo faber, and homo ludens-or humans who know, humans who make(things), and humans who play.” pg90 This chapter is all about these three types of humans and how they are evolving through technology. People are not simply learning facts anymore but they are learning where to find information and how to use it to make new things. Question- Is knowing where information can be found, as good as knowing the information itself? Connection- I have been thinking about the concept of knowing facts versus being able to find out information quickly and easily for a while now. My parents are always saying how kids do not know anything about history, or other topics anymore because they cannot recall the information when asked a random question. I have always thought that if they could just find the information just as easily then it would be as good as knowing it off of the top of their head. I am still trying to figure out if that is just as useful. Epiphany- Just knowing information is not enough to be considered an educated person. People are capable of so much more when they learn how to ask questions and problem solve on their own to create new things. Chapter 8 Quote- “The richness of experience and social agency produced by hanging out and the sense of embodiment and personal agency created by messing around, combined with the sense of making, produces what we think is the ultimate goal of indwelling, learning.” pg 104 This quote demonstrate how learning is taking place with little to no effort from the individual. Learning is a natural human process and we as future educators need to learn how to use the skills that students already have to allow them to learn in a guided but still creative fashion. Question- Does everyone use technology to “geek out” on topics they find interesting? Connection- This chapter obviously makes me think about the names of the badges that we have to complete in this course and they make a lot more sense to me know. I can see that they are not random but have to do with our familiarity of the subject matter of the course. Epiphany- Technology is allowing individuals to research and learn about subjects that were previously unavailable to the general public. Personally, I am interested in medical and dietary research and I realize now that if it were not for technology I would not be able to learn about those topics unless I was taking courses on it. Chapter 9 Quote- “Only when we care about experimentation, play, and questions more than efficiency, outcomes, and answers do we have a space that is truly open to the imagination. And where imaginations play, learning happens.” pg 118 This chapter talks about the need for imagination and play in children as well as adults. We need to start focusing less on recalling the correct answer and start moving towards asking the right questions and experimenting with how to find the answer. Question- How do we transfer the large body of information found online to real world application and day to day interactions? Connection- In my classroom experience as both the teacher and the student, everyone loves games. This chapter goes into detail about how play can help students learn and I have to agree that it is one of the best ways to engage students in effortless learning. Epiphany- The future of learning is not necessarily all technology based but it is about letting students play, create and design new things. By doing this in the classroom, students will become engaged in the topic and be more willing to participate in subjects that they previously did not enjoy. Chapter 4
Quote- “Any effort to define or direct collectives would destroy the very thing that is unique and innovative about them.” pg 54 This quote exemplifies this chapter for me because it talks about the unique capabilities of collectives and how they could be the key to the future of our education system. Question- Are all collectives valuable because of personal relationships, no matter around what content they evolve? Connection- This chapter reminded me of the extremely popular website Reddit. A collective is a perfect way to describe this site’s purpose and it dawned on me as I was reading this chapter that these types of collectives are forming around all sorts of topics and that they can be very useful to individuals. Epiphany- This chapter addressed private information versus public information and it really made me think about what it means to truly do something for the public. It was definitely not what I would have previously described. Chapter 5 Quote- “Learning in the age of constant change simply never stops. In the new culture of learning, the bad news is we rarely reach any final answers. But the good new is that we get to play again, and we may find even more satisfaction in continuing the search.” pg 73 This quote represents this chapter to me because it talks about how with technology we are constantly interacting and constantly updating our lives with new information. Now with technology we are able to constantly learn, correct and criticize nearly everything we come across. Question- In school when asked to write a personal reflection or statement about something, students moan and groan. If students/people seem to hate writing, why are blogs becoming more and more popular? Connection- This chapter reminded me of last semester when I was completing my ‘hanging out badge’ at the end of the semester. I feel I learned a lot from that experience because I had to follow the directions and figure things out along the way. The first few times a tried something it worked, but throughout the semester I was able to find ways of completing the assignment that worked far better. I think this constant state of learning is where our education system is heading. Epiphany- It is ok if we never really know all of the answers. Learning is something that goes on for your entire life and that is a good thing. Chapter 6 Quote- “But by reversing the question and the answer, as inquiry does, something that started as a liability-the radical differences among students and their dispositions-becomes an advantage.” pg 88-89 This quote represents this chapter for me because it talks about how all people are different and therefore have different learning styles. These differences should not be considered a hindrance anymore but an advantage. When people who think differently work together it can lead to brand new ideas and innovation. Question- What is indwelling, and how does it help you learn? Connection- This chapter reminded me of the DOK method that I was taught at Escondido High. This “depth of knowledge” wheel tries to help teachers create questions that involve a deeper level of thinking so their students do more than just recall facts that they learn. Epiphany- There is a lot to be learned from play. I think that play needs to become more of a norm for all ages of people than it is now. Chapter 1
Quote- “The first is a massive information network that provides almost unlimited access and resources to learn about anything. The second is a bounded and structured environment that allows for unlimited agency to build and experiment with things within those boundaries. The reason we have failed to embrace these notions is that neither one alone makes for effective learning. It is the combination of the two, and the interplay between them, that makes the new culture of learning so powerful.” pg7 I chose this quote because it shows that although we have infinite access to information we still are operating within boundaries. I am very interested to see where this book goes next. Question- How can the idea of online support groups be applied to students in the classroom? Not all high school students are passionate about every subject in a way that would make them go out and spend their free time researching and collaborating with their peers. Connection- This chapter reminded me of “Why School” that we read last semester. Both books are talking about revolutionising how students learn and how they need to be taught. Epiphany- The idea of the new culture of learning as a form of play was very interesting for me. I have never thought about games as being bounded by rules but free to use them in different ways but I find that to be 100% true. I hope to find a way to connect this theory in my classroom. Chapter 2 Quote- “[In] the new culture of learning the point is to embrace what we don’t know, come up with better questions about it, and continue asking those questions in order to learn more and more, both incrementally and exponentially”. pg38 This quote represents this chapter to me because it explicitly states that students will get away from being taught that they know concrete things without having to ask questions that can further their understanding about the subject. Question- How will we get all teachers and parents to get on board with this radically different form of education? Connection- This chapter reminds me of a discussion I was recently having with my husband about what students really need to learn to be successful in the future. We decided that memorizing facts was not as necessary as it used to be because now we can look up anything we want to know in seconds. Epiphany- Students need to be taught how to ask questions and then how to proceed in finding the answers. They time for rote memorization and the teacher knows everything is over. Chapter 3 Quote- “They have yet to find a balance between the structure that educational institutions provide and the freedom afforded by the new media’s almost unlimited resources, without losing a sense of purpose and direction.” pg48 This quote represented this chapter for me because it is such a huge issue facing schools right now to use technology to its fullest potential while still controlling what the students are doing. This will take many years to perfect but I think it is a worthwhile goal. Question- How can we harness the power of the Internet while still teaching the students what they need to know? Connection- I reminded me of when my Internet site usage was blocked while I was at school. Social network sites and other sites deemed inappropriate for students by the school district shows that schools still do not know how to really control where the students are going while they are using the Internet. These types of issues need to be resolved before we can fully utilize the potential of technology. Epiphany- The part about Wikipedia vs. the encyclopedia was very interesting to me. I have thought about how a print encyclopedia could ever be accurate because we are constantly learning new information. I feel that goes to show that I was educated to think that we are constantly learning and that information is fluid not static. |
AuthorI am a teacher candidate attending the CSUSM Single Subject Credential program. I am very excited to learn everything I can about our modern education system this year. Archives
May 2016
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