Blog Post #10

Adventures in Pencil Intergration 

This is a cartoon made by John T. Spencer. The message John is trying to send is name brand products may be costly. However, you get your money’s worth when buying high quality products than buying low quality products. Basically, this cartoon is a metaphor between PC and Apple. Apple is known for their quality devices, such as the iPad. On the other hand, PCs are just as great as Apple but they tend to catch viruses and crash more often. Overall, it is up to the customer on how much he or she wants to spend.

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games? 

In this post, Mr. Spencer is explaining to the principal how he incorporates games along with his lesson plan with students. The principal was not so pleased to hear that students were “playing games” while learning how to read. The principal was more concerned if students were going to be able to pass the rote memorization test.

I thought this was an interesting post by Spencer. I liked how he didn’t teach his students to memorize the subject he was teaching for the day.  Instead he incorporated games along with his lessons, which I think is great because students are able to interact with each other and actually comprehend what they are learning rather than memorizing the material.

The Con Academy

In this post, Mr. Spencer is approached by a man who considers that he flip his classroom. The man insists that if Mr. Spencer flips his classroom, Mr. Spencer will be able to answer each students question and see where each student stands with the material he is teaching.

I enjoyed reading this post by Spencer. It was humorous as well as informational. I think the idea of teachers “flipping their classroom” is a wonderful idea because students can work independently on their assignments and have their questions answered over the assignment the next day in class.

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?

This is an antic post by Dr. Scott McLeod on whether or not technology should be in the classroom. Dr. Sott McLeod is the Director of Innovation for Prarie Lakes Area Education Agency 8 in Iwoa. He is the founding director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), the nations only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administers. He is also the co-creator of the widely popular video series, Did You Know? (Shift Happens).

I think Dr. Scott McLeod has a very valid point about incorporating the use of technology in the classroom. Students should be exposed to technology because technology is a helpful tool and makes learning a lot more fun. We have great technology out there today, why should we not expose students towards it? Yes, technology can be harmful in some ways but it can also be educational if used properly.

Be sure to check out John T. Spencer and Dr. Scott McCleod’s blog!