My Dystopia

Note: This entry and the previous one are simulated homework assignments that I am doing for evaluating a lesson plan I'm working on for a class. That explains why the content has nothing to do explicitly with education.

My personal Dystopia would have to be pretty bad. I suspect it would be run by a huge totalitarian government that demanded high taxes from its citizens and completely excluded the masses from governmental involvement. There would be no video games for any one. In fact, computers and the internet would be outlawed in general. Think modern day China but with even more restrictions. Everyone would be constantly monitored by surveillance cameras and microphones embedded in their clothing. Individual expression would be squashed so thoroughly that anyone with a different hair style would be subject to imprisonment for dissenting against the state. The workforce would be divided arbitrarily with most people trained in manual labor and only a very select few (likely anyone with connections to the leaders of the ruling government) would receive formal education that would allow them to work in higher end jobs. All writing would be geared towards indoctrinating people into the ways of the state, with no uncensored material being generated anywhere.

My Utopia

Note: This and the following entry are sample assignments that I'm doing for a class. They don't actually have anything to do with education other than the fact that they simulate a bit of homework I might actually give my students some day.

My personal Utopia would have video game consoles available for all citizens. Really, I think it might even be a required portion of education that everyone must take a course in some gamer-related skill. Food would have to be made available to everyone. Maybe to account for that I might suggest instituting a mandatory service period for everyone to spend some time on the farm producing food. The government would probably still be a democracy, though it would be a little bit more selective in how it selected officials. I'm thinking that voting should require a certain level of education to prevent people from being uninformed voters. Maybe there could be a course offered separate from traditional education, because it's ridiculous to encourage everyone in the country to pursue higher education. I might also institute mandatory nap time. People don't get enough sleep and there should be some time set aside every day to account for that. I'd definitely recommend more vacation for workers in my country, because two weeks a year is just no good. The average should be more like a month. Also, cable and internet companies would be regulated so they could not charge penalties to customers who want only one service. That is all.

Here's something I found on Youtube that seems to have some pretty good tips on uses of technology in a short, easily accessible format. Also, the guy has a nifty accent, which rocks.

Here are some links to some interesting sites on tech in the classroom (most specifically dealing with English and language arts) and the concept of 21st century literacy:

http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/21stcentdefinition

http://www.ncte.org/cccc/resources/positions/digitalenvironments

http://www.readwritethink.org/
Also, for anyone who might be interested in my other various experimentations into technology application in the classroom here's a website I recently put together as an experiment in a common critical thinking exercise:

http://sites.google.com/site/discerningnewsbias/

Enjoy.

Tech in the Classroom: An Overview with One Big Point

What's wrong with this picture? I mean aside from the fact that whoever built this facility obviously got the blueprints for the classroom and the tool shed mixed up. What I see in this photo is a group of students receiving information from an instructor through a Powerpoint(tm) presentation. I think this is a rather poor use of technology in the classroom. The instructor has a great tool like a projector and presentation software, and he's just using it as a fancy notegiving device. It's like an overhead projector that isn't as eco-friendly.

So, what's my point with the photo? I think that a lot of problems with technology use in the classroom come from instructor reluctance to make tech use an interactive experience. I've had too many experiences where either the teacher or the students put together a Powerpoint(tm) for the rest of the class and the presentation fell flat. That technology is very useful in providing a dynamic way to give a presentation, but it often gets used poorly, and it is too heavily relied upon. In the case of presentation tools, the important thing for educators to remember is that they are tools. Their purpose is to augment a type of teaching that takes some practice to make interesting: the lecture. Adding fancy graphics on a screen will not automatically improve a teacher's strength as a lecturer.

Let's take a look at what I think is a better use of technology in the classroom.Okay, so here's a nice example of a wonderful thing: a computer lab. Obviously every class period can't be spent in this magical place, but it's a tool that has one major advantage over presentation tools--interactivity. I strongly believe any time you give students a chance to get hands on experience with technology they will be far more engaged than if you just show it to them. Of course, this has to be structured because we all know that students will hijack their terminals for Flash(tm) games and celebrity gossip blogs if they don't have some kind of direction when given such a powerful device. At least they won't fall asleep because whoever's giving the presentation is reading his points word for word off of each slide.

I think the point I've broadly tried to make here is that technology is great for use in the classroom but the most important underlying principle for its use is that it is a tool. It will be no better or worse than the amount of thought the educator puts into its application in the classroom. Let's hope I remember that myself when I start teaching, right?

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog on education! The general purpose of this space will be to serve as a space where I'll be ruminating on different aspects of teaching. One particularly important issue I like to look at is how we can use technology in the classroom. I recognize that there are lots of new media emerging that the current generation of students feel particularly connected to, and since any piece of knowledge best serves the learner when it can be made relevant there are some great opportunities for reaching today's students through these media.





You may be wondering what I was thinking when I decided to title this blog "My Life is Bacon." What does that have to do with education? Well, the short answer is that while I'm interested in education generally, my focus is in English and language arts. There are some powerful things that can be done with language, and metaphor pops up as one of the most effective phenomena. So when I say that My Life is Bacon, I'm trying to elicit thoughts of excellently tasty home cooking and crispy, greasy goodness which only bacon delivers upon. The image says that my life is pretty good, though it's definitely a little fatty in places. All in all, My Life is Bacon should indicate that I'm pretty good natured and I love a little bit of silly humor, which I think you need if you plan on being a teacher.

The long answer involves some friends and a lot of strange inside jokes which probably fall into the "you had to be there" category of humor.



So again, welcome, and enjoy!