C4T #4

Post 1
We are Meant to Pulse

My reply:
Mr. Joseph, I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I found your post very interesting. I found it especially interesting that, "97% of K-12 teachers use digital media for classroom instruction". It's very upsetting that the budget doesn't completely support this change. The world is changing and whether the school systems like it or not, that must change with it. We have to stay up-to-date and teach our kids what is in the now and their future, rather than what is traditional and in the past.

Mr. Joseph writes:
This video from the 21st Century Fluency Project, talks about how we live in age of 24/7 “infowhelm," where we are bombarded with information, have an increasingly high digital output and are challenged to manage our attention and develop deep expertise. It then makes the case that education can no longer be focused on memorization and regurgitation of information, but should require a new set of “information fluency” skills that includes the ability to ask good questions, access information from appropriate sources, analyze fact from opinion, and apply real world problems.

I think this applies directly to what Dr. Strange teaches in his class. Being able to memorize facts and regurgitate information is no longer valuable. We need hands-on training and do-it-yourself classes. As we grow older, we will forget what we memorized but if we had to actually put it into practice, we will recall the information better.

Overall, this post held a lot of information that can/should be applied to all teachers. Great blog!

Post 2
"What Are Digital Literacies? Let's Ask the Students" by Cathy Davidson

This article is extremely good. I found it be very useful and possibly controversial. I recommend every EDM student and educational professor to read it.

My reply:
Cathy, I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I found your article very interesting and from what I've seen, correct. Being a college student, I have the privilege of working alongside many young people who think outside of the box. When we were younger, we felt forced to "do" certain things. For example, we had to work a math problem in a specific way or points were taken off. Now that we're in higher education, we are trying to think of new, innovative ways to function. I don't view my generation as "absorbed with media", I think we take advantage of the opportunities that have been put before us. I believe Generation Y can change the world. And that begins with having the capability to speak with people all over. Earlier generations didn't have the privilege to make such an impact. They could change something locally, but it was much harder to change a nation, much less the world. From what I can tell, our generation will be very successful because we realize the world is in desperate need of change. Using Facebook and Twitter allow us to put our thoughts out there, and see how will jump on.
Thanks so much for your article. It really makes me realize just how much potential Generation Y truly has.
Sincerely,
Amanda Spence