Blog Post Assignment #4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?

I really loved this blog post by Scott McLeod, who is a professor with an education degree in Minneapolis, Minnesota! I mean let's be real, what parent in 2010 will be fully capable of keeping their child away from technology even though that's what they would want to do? A child, teenager, or young adult will use technology through friends or school at some given point. It is not a matter of if, but when will my child use technology. I really loved his sarcasm too because, it almost shows you how ignorant some parents sound when they say such things. I really liked the approach he used to get his point across. I'm sure if there was a study conducted, where identical twins were separated at birth and one was introduced to technology, and the other was not, I'm sure that the technologically advanced child would be more educated and prepared for the world we live in today as well as the future as opposed to the other child. Do you agree?

The iSchool Initiative

I thoroughly enjoyed Travis' perspective of the iSchool through the iTouch. I already have an iTouch and can see, just like Travis, all the opportunities available now without the iSchool even being established. I really think that this wonderful idea would be somewhat difficult in a way. If you are a student in a public school, you go to school for free. There are some small fee's to pay, but I never remember paying 600 dollars a year. If a public school student was required to buy this form of technology, would it be too much to  ask for a low income family? Would or should the school provide the iSchool for the students?

I think a lot of careful consideration should go into the cost of this product before requiring students to purchase it. Maybe there should be payment plans set up for families, or maybe the money a school would save in paper, ink, classroom supplies and computers cost should be saved and use that money to buy the iTouch. I still love the idea of the iSchool and I think it would be very convenient. It is also, as Travis said, a way to reduce our carbon footprint and go green! I'm looking forward to seeing what comes of the iSchool!

Lost Generation

The technique used in this video was very effective to me. It really made you listen and grasp the point. The producers of this video were very creative. I loved how when it reversed, you could could read the words from bottom to top and make a more hopeful story out of a once hopeless one. I really believe, if there would have been a true video about the point they were trying to get across, rather that a voice, then I would have been more distracted by what was going on in the video and I would have missed the urgancey of this message.

As far as the information provided in the video, I was terribly shocked! I really felt at certain points, that I was going to cry. It is so true, that unless our generation changes and teaches our children to be a certain way, that we are headed for disaster. Money should never outweigh the importance of a family. The love of money is the root of all evil. Money is not the root, but the love of it is. We need to learn in this society what are priorities are and what we love most and that should be our families.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

I never in a million years would have thought that a virtual choir would be possible. I'm not really sure, after reading the explination below the video, if the choir actually talked or communicated with Eric, but at the end of the video it does state that if you would like to join you can and it has contact information. I would love to learn more about this choir and how they made this possible. These are the days that i wish I were able to sing so that I could be involved in something so awesome!