Blog Post 8

This is How We Dream, Part 1, by Richard E. Miller speaks about the fundamental and incremental changes of this digital environment. He conveys that the goal of visual literary is to share dreams with others globally. The fundamental change he refers to in technology is that society has implemented computer skills for word processing and basic elements of technology very well, but this will not broaden the scope of computer literacy in our society. However, incremental changes will allow for growth and progress which will expand the usage of textual literacy. Writing is changing from reading/writing to listening /speaking in our culture, therefore we must adapt to these changes.

He brings up a valid statement about digital information changing and being updated constantly. Digital media will allow individuals to share knowledge infinitely, by composing with text, images, video,sound documents and visual documents in order to communicate in our culture. He states, "material is changing right before our eyes," which offers society a wealth of information to utilize for exploring knowledge and composing text.

Newspapers are embracing this concept out of necessity. I believe the educational environment must change out of necessity also. As our world changes our culture and society must change. Therefore, it is up to teachers to design and plan lessons that will meet the needs of their students and their academic success for the future.

This is How We Dream Part 2, is based on articulating a dream and sharing it with others. Composing material digitally by embedding blogs, starting conversation in order to push ideas forward is the future for our culture and our global community.
He believes ideas don't belong to us individually, they belong to our culture to share with the world. Composing digital material will allow us to push ideas into our culture. I believe that it will make the world a smaller place which will help on so many different levels.

Once again, in order for our students to be prepared for the future, educators have to change the way they are teaching students. These ideas and practices are rapidly being used and developed all over the world. So it is imperative that our society takes an objective look at our educational system in order to be able to compete globally.


Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12, is an example of the application process that Mr. Miller refers to in his video. She has taken the knowledge that she acquired from EDM 310 and applied it as a meaningful tool to educate herself. She utilizes the information on the web to gather information, synthesize it and produce it. Her research was totally web based with various multi-media, with Youtube videos being emphasized.

This is a great example for teachers. We want our students to internalize information not just memorize facts. In order to do that, they must be in charge of producing the information just as Carly has done. Using a multi-media approach is the best way for students to accomplish this goal. Making the lesson meaningful will give the students the desire to go the extra mile, do the best they can, and produce quality work.

I especially like her playlist of Youtube videos. I think organization is very important for children in order for them to be able to manage their time wisely when researching information. This also gives teacher an opportunity to have access and immediate feedback from other professionals around the world. She did an awesome job!

The student produced videos that I watched were very creative. They both conveyed outstanding information that will help future students with EDM 310. Both videos seemed to be very well planned and rehearsed making them interesting, informative, and entertaining. This is just another example of students taking pride in their work because they have created it.

An idea that comes to my mind in creating a video would be an "Old school/New school" approach. The old tired looking teacher presenting material the same old way, students are inattentive, and classroom management and organization are nonexistent. Then the New School practice comes into place,(due to DEM 310), where students are engaged,and teacher are facilitators. The classroom environment is a pleasant atmosphere to be in because organization is upheld due to the convenience of technology and the elimination of paperwork. Classroom management is optimal because students are controlling their own learning. This is my vision at this point for a video.

The video Learn to Change, Change to Learn says it all. The title of the video does an outstanding job directing the issue at hand. A statement in the video that made me think was that students are receiving a stimulating rich environment outside the classroom, but not inside the classroom. This is so true, however, teachers can do something about it. There are many areas that teachers have no control over, but teachers can take charge of the planning, developing, and implementing technology in the classroom.

Another point, in my opinion, is teachers are not preparing students for careers relevant for today's society. Students do not need rote knowledge, they need to know how to validate, synthesize, communicate, collaborate, and solve problems with the information that they gain from using technology. This has to take place in elementary school, just as students are taught reading and mathematics skills, technology must be a vital implementation in the early grades.

The old saying comes to my mind, "If it isn't broke, don't fix it." Well it's broke(education)! So let's fix it. If the system was working, it may be more difficult to make an argument for the way we educate students, but it is not working, so let us try something new. The outcome just might surprise us all.