Inspirational Educational Videos

TED Talk - Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education.html  

The first through that comes to my mind is a sense of fear. I have heard of digital classrooms that function without a teacher. This is scary because we have all worked so hard to get where we are, we don’t want to be replaced with a computer. I like that he created this, it could be a nice addition to the classroom; however, there are also some things I completely disagree with.

I agree that students should be able to go through work at their own pace and be in charge of their learning. I like that it is all technology based. This generation of students is very technology wise and they could relate to the media form that the content is being presented in. All teaching should be data driven. Teachers should be pre-assessing their students and moving them forward in their learning from where they are at. Finally, as always, mastery should be expected. That is why we teach! On the other hand, I am fully astonished with his statistic that only 5% of a teachers time is spent working with the students. I want to know what they are doing with their time. I run small groups daily, 50% of my time is spent teaching students what they do not know, or enriching them beyond the content we are investigating in whole group. Another thing that caught me off guard was the homework, lecture, homework, lecture, homework, lecture, and exam comment. I guess my view on teaching is much different. I like to pre-assess, teach, spiral back and re-teach, then assess again.

TED Talk - Tom Wujec on 3 Ways the Brain Creates Meaning http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/tom_wujec_on_3_ways_the_brain_creates_meaning.html

I personally found Jing to be a little nerve racking. It is uncomfortable to talk about something when you know it is being recorded and soon to be shared. However, I do think that Jing could be a useful in the classroom; it can be used by both teachers and students. I think that Jing would be more useful in an online setting, opposed to wordle, because it allows for explanation where as wordle just shows the words visually. Jing is also interactive which makes it more appealing to students, and as the TED video said would activate more parts of the brain. In a classroom I can see them both being used beneficially, however, I think that Jing would be more beneficial because it is visually interactive and allows for audio for those students who have to hear it as well. I liked listening to the other teachers explanations of how they would incorporate Jing into their classrooms; it gives me more ideas. I do not feel that I am proficient at using Jing, I believe that it takes practice just like everything else. On the other hand, I think that because it is limited to only five minutes more explanation can be given in a written format.

TED Talk - Malcolm Gladwell on Spaghetti Sauce http://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce.html

Without a doubt in my mind I think the spaghetti sauce analogy has a place in the Education field. As food consumers we do not all like the same thing; some people love sushi, I on the other hand cannot even fathom eating raw seafood. We all like different things, some people like their food the way it is, others put salt and/or pepper on everything to “add flavor.” We all have different satisfaction spots, and the same applies to the Education field. Students are so different! They have different learning styles, different home lives, deeper debts of understanding, and different attitudes toward school. So it is natural for them all to not take to one type of teaching/learning style. I do believe that the Education field is stuck in the “Ragu era,” however; I do believe there are many out there trying to change it. The theme of differentiation is huge; change what you’re teaching and how you’re teaching it to accommodate the different needs of your students. The young teachers are the ones that have the will and the ability to eliminate the “Ragu era.” I personally do my best to teach to all the children not just one type. I pride myself in getting to know my students so that I can better understand them and what they need.

TED Talk - Sheena lyengar: How to make choosing easier http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_choosing_what_to_choose.html

I found this video very interesting. I an not believe that we make 70 choices in a day, obviously some of them require very little thought. I do believe that 50% of our choices are made in less than nine minutes. The fact that we make that many choices per day, they need to be quick. I think as a teacher we make even more. We have to make choices on how to deal with behavior, what question to ask, or even if there is enough time to teach a certain point. When she talks about choices, I instantly think of math. There are so many ways to approach problems, often times students are only taught one. Division for example, students know the long division method. Not every student understands that method, therefore, they need to be provided with choices or different ways to approach the problem. I personally thought five methods of division, including long division. Every student in my class can solve 2 digit by 4 digit division problems. I think choices are needed to an extent. Often times we need choices to help us make our own meaning or understanding; on the other hand, if we have too many, we become over whelmed.

TED Talk - Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html

This talk does relate to education. I could not help but think of my classroom the whole time. I do think that when we are freed from deadlines and restrictions we are more creative. I see this in my classroom when I do STEM. If we do a simple science activity the students are always wondering if they are doing the activity correctly that they are not focusing on the content at hand. On the other hand, when they are presented with a challenging STEM problem free of restrictions and no teacher that will answer their questions, they are forced to explore. When I listen to the students work they are not focused on if they are doing it correctly, they are talking about how it works or does not work because "remember when we learned this" they support it evidence. By removing the restrictions and letting the students use the knowledge their way, they are going further into the assignments. This relates to the 20% work time. They are still learning and applying knowledge, just in their own way, not following a step by step activity.

TED Talk - Sugata Mitra: The child-driven education http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html

I was fascinated by the TED discussion, but not the least bit surprised. I think sometimes we limit what students actually learn by teaching to the standards and being afraid to deviate because of all we have to cover. I totally think that an educational reform is needed, but it would be very costly and time consuming. I think that along with direct instruction there needs to be problem based learning. I think that we also need to allow students to make mistakes and let them learn from them. Often times students are afraid to make mistakes, it is very difficult to change their mind set. I cannot recall when I was first introduced to computers, but I do know that the only way I learned how to use the internet was to actually do it. You could tell me a million times how to search for things, but I never really understood until I had to it. Proof being that our students are more capable than we think.

TED Talk - Sir Ken Robinson: Changing education paradigms http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html

TED Talk - Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution! http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html

            I was intrigued by both of these videos. To start I think that many teachers need to change the paradigms with in their classrooms. I am only in my second year, I am sure mine will change as the years pass. However, I fully agree that ADHD has risen since the push for standardized testing, the kids are bored. Standardized tests only measure specific facts from the students’ knowledge base.....when in reality we should be assessing their understanding and ability to apply the knowledge they have. I personally teach in divergent thinking kind of way. I have my students solve their math problems in multiple ways. There are many different methods to solve problems, not just a solve all algorithm. I am not surprised to hear that kindergarteners are able to think divergently when older students cannot. My fifth graders struggle with thinking past the systematic methods they have had drilled into them. It takes months to retrain them to think outside of the box, when in all reality people do it naturally. Our education system is killing our students ability to think. I do not think that all students are meant to go to college. There are trade school and many other professions that students could choose. I remember going through college and many people did not know what they wanted to do, they just knew they were going to go to college. I bet one day that kid had a dream of what they wanted to do but they are so brainwashed in thinking college is the only way that they go with no idea of what they want to get out of it. Students’ dreams need to be listened to and encouraged for them to follow; we are not all built to operate the same. I liked both videos, I particularly like the visual at the end of the first one where you could see everything that happened. However, I am a very auditory person so listening to the talks is the most beneficially to me, during the drawing on I was focused on reading the words even though they were the ones he was saying.

TED Talk - Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html  

I think that this video relates to not only education but life as a whole. As people we focus on the negative, I have to admit I do it. It seems that all the positive things are gone once one "not perfect" thing is mentioned. As a teacher, I try to encourage my students to be vulnerable; I want them to tell me when they do not understand. I always say "If I do not know what you are struggling with, how can I help you understand?" I have also fostered in my students that it is ok to be wrong, as long as we know why it is wrong. If you can't get the correct answer, learn from it how to figure it out the next time. I also agree with Brene Brown that we need to be vulnerable so that we are kinder and gentler to ourselves and that will lead into us being kinder and gentler to others around us, more importantly our students. I do think that the education system as whole holds students to this level of perfection. No Child Left Behind Act wants 100% of students to be proficient on state standardized by the year 2014. This is not practical, not every child is going to pass ever year. Students have limits, they may have a learning or language barrier, get sick, have a bad teacher.....they cannot be perfect. I think that as teachers we need to allow our students to be vulnerable and let them show their true selves so that they can foster their creativity and all their strengths.

TED Talk - Tim Brown on Creativity and Play http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_on_creativity_and_play.html  

I think that creativity and play are huge factors in education. Kids have a naturally ability to play, it is something they are used to and want to do. If we harness that desire with learning objectives, we will get students to productively learn. People are always wanted to learn about things they are interested in. If teachers can relate what we want kids to learn through play, they will learn. I think that as students age this concept of play turns into hands on learning. When students are involved with the material in more than one way, they are more apt to understand the content.

When I was in Australia teaching, they had a 30 min time set aside for "play and socializing." Students were allowed to do whatever they wanted with the things in front of them and play with whoever they wanted. I think this is a great thing and should be in schools. I do think that schools are to focused on standardized testing that they have forgotten about play and fun. Therefore, at the end of the day students are worn out. My school only allows 15 min of recess per day, and they are lucky if they get that. The principal thinks that we need to be teaching bell to bell.....no time to waste. I personally think this is wrong; it follows that quantity over quality rule. I think that play is long forgotten, but needs to be reinstated. It is important for teachers, students, people; even my dog seems more at ease when she has had time to play.

TED - Conrad Wolfram: Teaching kids real math with computers http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/conrad_wolfram_teaching_kids_real_math_with_computers.html

This is by far my favorite TED video. Being a math teacher, I could not agree with him more. I think there is a huge problem with mathematics education, the students cannot think or apply the knowledge in a real-world setting. I have to say what he is proposing is what I try to do in my classroom every day. I make math meaningful and relevant to the students so they can connect with it. I like the steps he suggests to follow; I feel that is how I go about teaching math. I always start with a question and answer their questions with questions and guide them toward the answer, because they already know how to do the computation! But then there is the dreaded testing that holds teachers back to a point. We are supposed to teach in a meaningful and problem solving way when in turn we are only accountable for teaching the computation so they can pass the test. I think a reform in testing is needed!!!