I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga. By: John T. Spencer
While I was looking at this picture it never occurred to me that it could have been referring to a MAC and a PC. I knew what a paper mate was, but I was clueless about a Ticonderoga. After I did a little research I found out that a Ticonderoga was a very expensive writing instrument that only the "hip" crowd purchases. It wasn't until I read the comments on John T. Spencer's blog that I found out he was relating this picture to the differences of a MAC and a PC. This picture is insinuating that Personal Computers (PC) always break down and MACs are purchased by the "hip" crowd and are probably the most expensive purchase the hipsters will ever make.
Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?
In this blog post by Mr. Spencer, a teacher is getting scolded by their principal because the teacher is not "lecturing" to their students. The teacher is engaging his/her students in "active simulation" activities. The principal called this playing games, which was against their school rules. I think this entire meeting between the principal and teacher could have been avoided if the principal would have stepped into the classroom and watched the simulation. The principal could have witnessed that this style of teaching was keeping the students engaged and that they (the students) were actually learning something from this "active simulation".
Should We Be Anonymous?
The second blog post I read by Mr. Spencer was, Should We Be Anonymous? In this post Mr. Spencer had someone leave a "mean" "anonymous" comment on his class blog. The student that brought this issue to his attention was very upset about it. Later that day, he had a discussion with his class about if they should allow people to leave anonymous comments on their blog. He says to his class, "People hide when they are anonymous. They attack, because it is a surprise attack. It's secret." The class agreed that people are more than likely to leave rude comments on someones blog if they (the commenter) remains anonymous. One of his students made the statement that if people make a comment on a blog and remain anonymous then their boss or future boss will never be able to see their public internet trail, whether it is good or bad. Mr. Spencer agreed and thought that no one should be able to leave anonymous comments to commit acts of kindness or acts of cruelty. This reminds me of EDM 310, we are not allowed to make anything anonymous. Everything is out in the public for everyone to see. If we have a tech-savvy boss one day they may decided to get the urge to Google us. The quality of our work may depend if we keep a job or leave a good impression with the boss.
Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please? By: Dr. Scott McLeod
Lets face it, blogs, internet, social-networking sites, and cell phones are the top sources of communication in this century. Kids as well as adults need to know or learn how to use these types of communications. I think this is a great blog post to make people realize just what types of communication are out in the world today. Most people just look at the internet as a tool that presents their children with inappropriate pictures, messages, and people. This is only the case if that child searches for that kind of stuff or does not have any type of internet experience. Parents, teachers, and schools need to quit flipping out about children using the internet, because it is a great learning tool. Children need to experience the new types of communication and new ways of conducting research that they will be presented with in the later stages of their life.
Who is Scott McLeod?
Dr. McLeod is a technology guru. He is a member of different types of committees that encourage the use of technology in school systems. He is currently the Director of Innovation for Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency 8, he is the Founding Director of UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), and he was the co-creator of video series Did You Know? (Shift Happens). CASTLE was the first graduate program designed to prepare technology-savvy school leaders. Dr. McLeod was named Leader in Learning by the cable industry, Emerging Leader by Phi Delta Kappa International, and one of National School Board Association's 20 to Watch. This is only a few awards he has received, you can check out his bio here!
Hello Cheyanne,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post this week. I, too, had no idea what Mr. Spencer was referring to when he compared a Papermate to a Ticonderoga. I would've had no clue what a Ticonderoga was except for the fact that it was being compared to a Papermate pen.
The whole conversation between the teacher and principal was a bit ridiculous, in my opinion. I agree that if the principal just took the time to watch the students participate in the simulation, he would have realized they were actually learning something, too.
Again, great post. I look forward to reading more posts in the future!
Elizabeth Mims
Cheyanne,
ReplyDeleteYou have developed a well written blog post. You understood the metaphor of the cartoon and the fact that we need to focus on skills other than memorization in the classroom. Good job!