I found Dr. Zhao's Podcasts to be very interesting. He delves into the true nature of the, "digital world." I like how he comments about empowering teachers and administrators to learn from the world around them. He suggests visiting and learning from schools all around the world. I agree with the him. After visiting a school in Germany, I was amazed at the level at which the high school aged students were learning at. The students were engaged by their teachers in a book that I had studied in high school, too. The only difference was that they were learning and discussing the book in their second language of English! I remember feeling very impressed and I think Dr. Zhao has the right idea in that we need to learn how to immerse our students by studying and learning from schools all over the United States and throughout the world. Our ethnocentric view of learning has sometimes hinder our becoming a more "digital world" of education according to Dr. Zhao. I would love to take his advice and travel to learn more about enriching our students and meeting them in their "digital world."
Another topic that Dr. Zhao commented about was the fact that schools are blocking sites such as YouTube, live chats, and not allowing e-mails. He believed that we should not be scared to use these sites and instead use them to engage our students. I like his stance that we should use these sites to have the students gain information from all over the world. I think this could be useful and through monitoring students could learn a lot from others. I especially like to utilize using YouTube to play solos for my students.
The "Game Theory" is another topic that Dr. Zhao touched upon. I think that his idea of using games to teach online is great! I think students could become more engaged and immersed in the cultures of others.
Overall, I feel that Dr. Zhao is very convincing in the fact that educators today need to be aware that the school system is changing. Students need to continue to live in the "digital world" even when they are at school.
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I too am frustrated by our school's web filter. The filter blocks education related websites. I feel that students should have access to e-mail. It would make completing assignments so much easier if students could just e-mail their work back and forth from school to home. Also at the high school level some students like to e-mail their teachers their assignments and use e-mail to ask their teachers questions. I agree with you schools need to modernize and catch up to the real world by taking advantage of technology.
How amazing would that be if we had the opportunity to go to schools all over the world?! I would love to do that! I visited a school in France when i was in HS and i too remember the level and environment was outstanding. I helped my friends with their english homework and it was difficult for me!
I agree about the filter. Dr. Zhao makes a great point about teaching the students appropriate use rather than just blocking email etc. This is what they will encounter in the "real world".
I also love the idea of using games in education. Maybe it's jsut me, but I would love to learn about more sites that feature games that could be used in the classroom.
I also like the idea of having students being able to email. Perhaps a way around this that is "safe" would be to use blogging as a tool for interaction. Sally C
I feel that we are so isolated in the United States, and I believe that Dr. Zhao was right. We're very arrogant or ethnocentric, and I believe that it will hurt us in the end. What a great thing to have the opportunity to learn from other cultures. I'd love to have the chance myself.
I also thought that the idea of “gaming” to be very interesting. Interactive training simulations are becoming very popular and quite valuable in many work fields. Hilton has even implemented similar ideas with our online training sessions for “Blood-Born Pathogens” and “Sexual Harassment in the Workplace”. I have also read about the military using training simulation created by video game designers. Even the video games for kids are changing…now with real life scenarios, like “Trauma Center: Under the Knife” a video game where you are the doctor and earn points by healing and saving people.
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