Blog Post #10

While looking at this cartoon, it reminded me of the Mac commercials that were busy airing on TV a few years ago. You can watch those commercials here. The "Papermate" in this case represents the PC and the "Ticonderoga" represents the Mac. The problem with "Papermates" is that they break easier and are not made to last for a long time. At least, that is what we are led to believe. After reading this article, I do not believe that there is a significant difference in the two. In my opinion, it depends on how you decide to use the two and how you take care of them. I did a little more research and stumbled across this article which lists 8 reasons why a Mac is better than a PC. It seems that in this day and age people are supposed to be on one side of the fence or the other. I personally own an HP desktop and have absolutely no problems with it. No I cannot do everything a Mac can, but I don't feel like I'm missing out. I do own an iPhone though, and it's not because I'm team Mac, but because when I was due for an upgrade it was more bang for the buck. If I was forced to buy the iPhone without an upgrade however, I would probably not own one. So, is the "Papermate" the way to go, or is the "Ticonderoga" the way to go? Whichever you choose, treat them right, and they should last as long as you want them to.

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?
In this blog post by Mr. John T. Spencer, he makes a point through his dialogue with his principal that playing games in the classroom can be very helpful for students to learn. The principal argues that playing games in the classroom does not help the students learn, but he is certainly wrong. Mr. Spencer argues that by combining learning into games that students would be better at learning and memorizing the information. Dr. Strange says he wants to eliminate "burp-back" education in which students memorize and "burp-back" the correct answer and then forget. Well, what better way to eliminate this type of teaching than by having students interact with the material they are learning.  

After reading Mr. Spencer's post, "Why were your kids playing games?", I was extremely confused. After about 30 minutes of clicking through different posts, reading post after post and trying to figure out what the heck he was actually writing about, I hit an "a-ha" moment. I finally got it, he wasn't talking about pencils (which I originally thought he was) but he was talking about computers! Duh! Gosh, I can't believe it was so far over my head! In order to actually "get" his writing, I began searching all over his blog. I went from his context page, to his conflict page, and all the way back to his very first post from January of 2010.In this post, he is having a conversation with Mr. Brown talking about the integration of pencils into the classroom that is filled with "slates and chalk". It is obvious now that pencils are actually computers, and "slates and chalk" are the paper and pencils. Mr. Spencer has a great writing style, and once you get used to it he is very entertaining.

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
In this blog post, by Dr. Scott McLeod, he comes across as very humorous and fun. He writes a nice poem about the push back to integrating technology into the classroom that many are facing. Many people (mainly the older people who are "set in their ways") don't believe in integrating technology into the classroom. They are, in fact, afraid that students will cause more trouble than good. Older people are actually becoming scared that the younger generation knows more about technology than they do and resent it. Just like in Mr. Spencer's blog, which is based in the 1800's, change is scary to the older generation. Change, however, is not a bad thing. Teaching, traveling, and shopping are constantly progressing and need to be embraced by society rather than pushed away. If we were to push away new technology: you wouldn't be reading this blog, traveling in airplanes or automobiles, and you certainly would not be shopping for cheaper textbooks online. Teaching is not just about teaching students information, but showing the information and how to use it to the best of their abilities. When we reach this point in our society, we will finally have eliminated "burp-back" education.

Who is Dr. Scott McLeod?
Scott Mcleod is considered a expert on K-12 school technology leadership. He is the founder of CASTLE or the Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education. He is also the author of What School Leaders Need to Know About Digital Technologues and Social Media.