This weeks videos were excellent. It provided me with an opportunity to reflect on some of my previously held beliefs. The most profound change in beliefs is the use of video games in the classroom. The Edutopia videos were excellent. It shed a different light oh how video games can reinforce learning in the classroom. It provides students with problems solving skills and engagement that the typical classroom does not provide. It allows students to work collaboratively with others to solve major problems. These skills are vital to keeping our country relevant in a global world. We grade kids on knowing facts, that can easily be researched in a matter of seconds. We need to get students to figure out how to solve the problems in the world. The best way to do that is allow teachers to develop curriculum with outside companies, and other community members. This is the only way to truly prepare or students for this global world.
Another issue that was discussed in the videos, was the poor tools that teachers are given. Teachers are given water, and asked to make wine. According to the Sasha Barab, "We are setting teachers up for failure. We are giving them old kinds of tools, and we are giving them expectation and outcome that their kids are going to be held accountable to, that don't engage students" (Edutopia.org, nd). I am really looking forward to the day that textbooks are no longer used in the classroom. Our Schools spend millions of dollars on books that are completely outdated with in a year. A lot of this money can be put back into a school technical infrastructure. Schools can greatly benefit from putting the ball back into the hands of our students.
Edutopia.org. (nd). Big Thinkers: Sasha Barab on New-Media Engagement. Retrieved on Oct. 5, 2009 from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-sasha-barab-video
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