On the topic of NCLB
Gov. Bill Richardson had a VERY strong reaction to the video and strong feelings about what needs to be done in education...
Scrap NCLB –it doesn’t work
One size fits all doesn’t work
Doesn’t emphasize teacher training, kids with diasabilities or English learning students
Worst thing is that it takes funds away from schools not doing well…need to help those schools…
KEY to strong schools is strong teachers
Need to empasize science and math
Unlock minds in science and math
Federal program of arts
On the topic of Public or Private school
I thought it was great that they took questions FROM YouTube
If you visit the debate site you can see not only clips of the debate...but the HUNDREDS of responses to them. The Republicans will have their turn on September 17.
Ken posed a question:
What legitimacy, if any, does this bring to YouTube as a media outlet?Ken said..."Like it or not it is time to start paying attention so that we can make an educated decision come Nov 08'.".. Jen D offered her thoughts as well..." the answer is that absolutely this legitimizes YouTube as an accepted form of creative expression. Mainstream media has been lamenting the growing power of the online community (remember the Swift Boat Veterans) for years now. People like Matt Drudge and alternative media bloggers have broken, investigated, and dispersed stories that the mainstream media simply did not want to touch. In doing so they brought an entirely new group of citizens into the ongoing national discussion and empowered them to seek their own answers and make their concerns public. I would wager that a concerned citizen cannot make their thoughts any more public than by getting their video question answered a national presidential debate. " and like the 2 of them, I agree...
What a great learning opportunity for students and what a great way for the candidates to connect to the YouTube Generation. Is YouTube blocked at your school....? This is a great argument for why it shouldn't be.
Posts
You mentioned having students respond...Amen!
ReplyDeleteI can't see a way you could twist this so that it is not a valuable learning experience in a election year (or 2 as the case may be).
You have have seen this already, Kristin, but if not, it's definitaly worth the 20 minutess and relates to your post here.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66
Ken Pruitt asks: What legitimacy, if any, does this bring to YouTube as a media outlet? Jen Dorman states that this absolutely legitimizes YouTube as an accepted form of creative expression. She comments on the opportunity for a new group of citizens to get involved in ongoing national discussions. If we shift the discussion to the classroom, I suggest that this also provides an opportunity for educators to involve students on a broader and deeper level in essential learning. Our high school seniors are months away from graduation and entry into the real world. Some of their peers will go to Iraq and learn first hand what is happening in this global world we are talking about, others will go to college and compete with those students that Freeman says are waiting to take their jobs. I can go on, but my point is this: What a great opportunity this provides for educators to take down the walls of the classroom and to expand learning into an essential curriculum. How many teachers will share the YouTube event with their students? How many teachers will encourage their students to create a video as a means of communicating and an application of learning? How many teachers will show the videos to engage students in a timely discussion – a discussion that could be used for a multitude of topics? Certainly an interdisciplinary lesson. How many teachers understand the significance of this as a stepping stone into the world of rigor and relevance and connectivity to 21st century content and skills?
ReplyDeleteWe are looking for ways to expand project based learning and ways to use technology in a meaningful manner. Teachers are struggling with finding ways to assess standards. Our job is to engage students in learning that is rigorous, relevant, reflective of 21st century content and skill and aligned to standards. Student activities and assessments must be aligned to standards. Wow…here it is. If I look at the Pennsylvania Standards for Civics and government and economics I not only see the applicable content but I see verbs for 9th and 12th grade such as describe, analyze, interpret, contrast, and evaluate. When I check out the reading, writing and listening standards, I see listening, speaking, discussion, presentation. I can go on and find standards across a multitude of disciplines that could be woven into a lesson that uses the YouTube Debates as a tool for learning. How are we getting the word to teachers?
Just saw a typo: meant Friedman not Freeman
ReplyDeleteGreat post Hokie! Very interesting stuff on the democrats.
ReplyDeleteTAG :)
ReplyDelete8 Random Facts meme.
Jane--
ReplyDeleteI see your point...but teachers CAN'T share these resources when they are blocked to students in many schools. Which was part of my point. I think many teachers DO see this as a stepping stone, but when the resources are not accessible, it is difficult to count on them. Are there innapropriate things on YouTube, YES --does it use valuable district resources in bandwidth to view, YES, do I think we need to start to teach kids the difference between educational/informational and entertainment use of these resources....I think it is time to look at many of the AUPs and ways these tools are used / misused in schools...
Hey! That is twice what I make - vote for that guy!
ReplyDelete