The cartoon above was posted on Adventure in Pencil Interigation. After reading the cartoon, I had to google ticonderoga. I had never heard of ticonderoga, but it is the brand name of a more expensive pencil. On Teachers Blog Spot there was a post called, Which Pencils are the Best Value. In her post she describes what she has found to be the better pencils. The Ticonderoga pencils sharpen better, write better, and erase better. Papermate pencils are equivalent except the eraser on papermate smears. The papermate pencils are cheaper than the ticonderoga pencils. In her opinion papermate pencils were the best value pencils. However the cartoon is not about pencils. It can be related to the education system. Some schools resists the use of technology, because it costs money. While other schools realize if you invest in something of good quality it will hold its value. I think technology is worth the investment, but it must be used effectively.
John Spencer posted on his blog page, Why Were Your Kids Playing Games ? He was called into the principals office to discuss what was going on in his classroom. The principal was not happy with the way Mr. Spencer was teaching his students and called it playing games. Mr. Spencer tried to point out to the principal he was teaching the students it wasn't simply a game. I think it was an awesome idea. This is such a creative way to inspire students, because any teacher can give them a worksheet. How creative is it to hand out worksheets. Totally amazing the principal was upset. From the very beginning of Mr. Spencers visit with the principal it was all about appearance. He asked Mr. Spencer to leave the door open because he had an open door policy. It was all about policy and procedure. We can't treat all students the same. They are not the same. Each student is different and learns differently. Mr. Spencer posted this video on his blog and I thought it was very interesting. It points out that technology won't fix education, but it is the artists that use them. Technology is only beneficial if it is put to good use.
Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He is also the Founding Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE). This is the nations only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators. He has quite a background in leadership and technology skills. He made some good points in his blog. If teachers are only going to use computers in place of paper and pencils, What's the difference? People resist change, maybe it is the fear of being outsmarted by technology. I admit, it is sometimes easier to resort to the old way of doing things. I get frustrated when I can't figure it out. It is also embarrassing when a child can work technology better than an adult. We have all heard we can't stop technology and it is true. The question is what are we going to do with technology? As a future educator, I want to learn all I can about technology. I want my students to excel and learn. I want to be creative and open to new ideas. I think Dr. McLeods students are going to excel far above the traditional methods of teaching.
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