Week 2 - #2 Article Reflection

In the articles “Are They Really Ready to Work” and “Return to Sender”, the authors describe current high school and college (2-, and 4-year) graduates as lacking the necessary technological skills that are needed in today’s work place.

In “Are They Really Ready to Work”, the author states that it is not only a matter of having a proper technological education but the students are missing or lacking in the most basic skills in the English language. Students are not being able to hired due to their deficiencies in English and then when they compound that with their lack of “applied” skills such as professionalism and work ethic, these potential employees are being crushed in the workplace.

In “Return to Sender”, the author writes about how the United States has shown a constant failure to integrate technology into the classrooms to provide students with authentic learning opportunities that are necessary for today’s work force. Don Knezek states in the article “Today’s students could be technologically literate as well as great communicators in traditions settings but get the socks beaten off them by someone who has learned to communicate in a digital setting.”

Both articles share many of the same concerns about the students of today’s classrooms. Issues of collaboration, teamwork, vetting information from many different sources, and properly communicating are some of the key points that are being made.

In order to fix these however, teachers must realize that this is a true reality. The way we are currently set up in our educational settings in hurting our student’s chances of securing real work in the global economy. We are not providing students with the appropriate level of technological education! As teachers, we must begin to teach through technology rather than with technology.

If I were the Secretary of Education, I would be talking about doing just that! Overhauling the educational system so that students are learning through technology rather than with it. I would want to “Maximize the Impact” of our technology education in order to make sure that school systems are utilizing technology with a goal and long-term vision in mind.

Week 2 - #1 Incorporation of Global Education

I would like to first apologize for not having this (and my other post) in here on Saturday night. I completed it but I posted it to my blog for EDU 533. Sorry about the inconvenience and tardiness of my discovery.
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The incorporation of global education into today’s classroom has recently been debated as an issue of expense not only in dollars, but also to a teacher and students’ time in the classroom. It is known that as we progress in our educational philosophies, teachers are often handed more and more tasks that take their focus off of their essential purpose of teaching.

Some may see global education as something additional but I personally feel that it is something that streamlines education. I feel that through global education, my students will receive a comprehensive education that takes the world’s varied viewpoints and brings them into the classroom using a structured curriculum.

Through the use of technology, students are able to access global information, speak one-on-one with experts from around the world, collaborate, create, and fore fill educational competencies with a macro prospective as opposed to one micro in caliber.

This does not mean that teachers will have to completely overhaul their educational curriculums, or adjust their lessons to complete new ones, it is simply a matter of taking some time, getting to know the current technologies available to teachers and finding ways for their students to use them in the classroom. Sure, at first, it may be a little time consuming. But once the technology has been learned (it will probably already be used by the students) it will eventually streamline lessons and allow the students to be creative and work from almost anywhere!

Week 1 - #2: Reasons for Global Cooperation

In today's fast paced world, if you blink, you will miss the latest technology boom and be three versions behind before you even know something has changed. This doesn't only put you behind, it puts your company, school, organization, and employees behind as well. The world is going towards a technology focused business model that allows for many companies to do business (whether internal or external) globally without any extraneous costs associated with it besides the cost of the high speed internet and phone.

This advance in technology is not only effecting businesses though. It is effecting schools as well. This is a good thing however. Just imaging learning about global cultures, business fundamentals, and our history and being able to speak face-to-face with people from that particular culture with online tools such as Skype. Just imagine the amount of real and authentic learning that can take place in our schools.

In today's business world, it is all about collaboration. Through the use of the many technologies available in today's classrooms, teachers are able to provide students with an education that is not only comprehensive of the entire curriculum but one that is collaborative with the students inside the class and possibly from around the world.

Today, teaching is not just standing in front of a classroom preaching knowledge to students. It is allowing them to take hold of what they have learned, what they want to learn, and allowing them to work together to solve problems. This is what they will be doing in the real world, why not in the classroom as well.

Here is a link to a website that will provide teachers numerous ways to incorporate technology into their classrooms: The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators

Week 1 - #1: A Flattening World

As I have grown, I have noticed the vast change in technology that has come into this world. I have only been here for 23 years but in that times span, we have already seen phones go from rotary dial; to push button; to cordless; to mobile via bag; to mobile; to being as smart, if not smarter, than a computer all within my short lifespan.

Is it no wonder why we are now discussing the world being flat? It hasn't just been telephones that have advanced to flatten this world, it has been TVs, computers, the internet, satellites, and so much more. The video clip The World is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman goes into many reasons why our world has become so small in terms of global business, collaboration, and communication between countries that are nowhere near one another, yet today, somehow are doing business like neighbors.

Based on this video, I would agree that our world is "flat".  Mr. Friedman's points about the change in technology and advancements that keep coming make me honestly believe that even though companies, schools, and people are spread across the globe, we are still able to collaborate as if we were sitting in cubicles right next door!