Assignment 2 Reflection

After reading the articles and watching the videos for this week’s assignment I have truly been inspired to be one of the teachers that Dr. Tony Wagner talks about.  This is the teacher that isn’t afraid to try and venture off into this path of keeping students engaged in content through the use of technology (Random acts of excellence”).  These core competencies that Dr. Wagner talks about are essential to young students’ achievement later in life.  I believe the biggest are problem solving and the ability to adapt.  We, as teachers, need to set that example in the classroom.  If we cannot adapt to the changing learning styles, how can we expect students to adapt as well.

                For myself, I feel as though I am technologically advanced but I am nowhere near at the levels as some of the kids as far as social networking and so on.  The video at Kansas State opened my eyes to the real issues facing students today on every level.  The classroom does in some instances look the same as it did for the last generation.  I remember my peers bringing their laptop to class in college and seeing them just playing games throughout the lecture.  I did not have a laptop but I was also not much better because I was completing the daily crossword in the paper just being jealous that I did not have the technology they had. 

                These types of classrooms were talked about in IDEO’s ten tips.  Specifically talking about how the environment itself has to change and therefor the teacher as well.  The teacher needs to take the approach of being an enabler of learning and not just someone who knows all the facts and regurgitates them back to the students for memorization.  Some of the ways to do this is keeping students engaged throughout the lesson and this can be done through technology.  Create an atmosphere of not just right and wrong but let’s find the answer together.  Ambition needs to be set in this generation so that they can grow and utilize every aspect of today’s vast array of information through every option available.