Blog Post #13

For this blog post I watched A Vision of Students Today. This video is about students in today's classroom. Over 200 students commented on and edited this information for this video. This video covers several issues of the modern student from being in massive amounts of debt after graduating from college to the fact that, more often than not, the job a current student will have after they graduate doesn't exist today. Students hold up sheets of paper with the facts written on them as the camera shots zoom around the room from one paper to another. The video ends with a quote: "The inventor of the system deserves to be ranked among the best contributors to learning and science, if not the greatest benefactors of mankind." Upon reading this quote one might think they are referencing technology however it is a quote about the chalkboard stated in 1841.

I watched this video a few years ago just from stumbling upon it on Youtube. I think this video is very striking. In particular, this video was published in 2007 (over 5 years ago) and yet we are just beginning to see changes in the education system. Watching this video from the perspective of a student I can relate to everything they "say" when they hold up their signs; I often buy school books that I hardly open that cost hundreds of dollars, I will be in massive debt when I graduate, and most of my professors don't know my name. One of the most striking parts of the video for me was when they totaled the number of hours spent doing tasks each day; it totaled 26.5. The next slide says "I am a multi-tasker-I have to be." I am always multi-tasking. My fiance often commends me on being such a good multi-tasker and I felt that this portion of the video spoke the reason why I am good at that-I have to be. Between work and school and caring for my son I find myself not only multi-tasking but losing more and more sleep.

As a future teacher I also found this video very interesting. I think technology is a great tool and one that we should stop fearing. Teaching students, of any age, by having them sit at a desk while I lecture is frankly unacceptable. I loved the video Back to the Future by Mr. Crosby. We need to encourage active learning by getting our students involved. We need to get our students up out of their seats and let them explore. When we are children we have a natural curiosity about the world; we are natural explorers. As we get older, however, that curiosity is discouraged and so we forget how to really learn. I am excited for the future of education. I can't wait to have my own classroom and to encourage students' curiosity and to help them explore (and become life long learners).