Blog Post # 10

The picture above is a cartoon by John T. Spencer.
At first this cartoon confused me, I did not get the meaning at all. But then I went to Spencer's blog to read his comments on the cartoon and found out it is a mock of the PC MAC commercials. I thought to myself, "Duh" after finding that out. I thought it was interesting that he used pencils in this cartoon. I read some more of his blog and found that a lot of his posts are about pencils and technology. I think any computer, or pencil, is fine depending on the user. I love Apple products but I prefer a PC over a Mac any day because it's more affordable. Now if anyone wants to buy me a nice new Mac then I would gladly convert over!

The next blog post of Spencer's I read was Why Were Your Kids PLaying Games? I thought this was very interesting. This post consisted of dialogue between a principal and a teacher. The principal calls the teacher in his office and asks the teacher why his kids were playing games. The teacher tries to explain that that yes they were playing games, but they were learning in the process as well. Still, the principal does not agree with this and tells him not to do it again.
First off, it angers me to think that a principal of a school would have those types of opinions. As a principal, he or she should encourage educational games in the classroom, not ban them. Playing games in the classroom can help engage students and they, more than likely, enjoy learning more. I hope I never come across a principal who discourages something so important as engaging student learning. Children want to have fun, not have their nose stuck in a book for 7 hours 5 days a week.

The next post I read is called The Con Academy. This post is a dialogue between a teacher, principal, and some guest. The principal asks the teacher to meet a special guest and the teacher agrees. The principal suggests the teacher to flip his classroom. But what the principal is asking isn't technically flipping a classroom. The teacher is obviously a little peeved and is sarcastic with his remarks back to the principal and the guest.
These dialogues Spencer posts are quite funny. Though, if this were to actually happen I find it to be more of a tragedy. This principal Spencer keeps using in his dialogue is just plain ignorant. I began to read the comments below this post and found out that this was a meme for the Khan Academy. I began to read about this academy and realized it's just online worksheets for students to do. yes it's at the student's own pace, but as I child I HATED worksheets no matter if on paper or online. They also advertise it to be completely free, however you have to pay for training. I recommend everyone to read this particular post and read about the Khan Academy and form an opinion for yourself as well.

Next I read a few posts from Scott McLeod's blog Dangerously Irrelevant.
The first post I read is called Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff Please. WARNING: This poem is obviously sarcastic. McLeod adresses this post to teachers, parents, and administrators. He is almost begging everyone not to teach children to blog, use social media, make videos, or make a PLN because paper and pencil are going no where. He says to lock it down, block it out, and not to let kids use it because it's evil. Then at the end he says how he allows his children to use all of these tools. He asks how far ahead his children will be compared to those who do not allow their children to utilize these tools.
I think McLeod posted this to help those that are crazy, understand that the internet is a useful tool. Though I think it is important for everyone to understand that there are dangers out there on the web. I read a few of the comments left by other edm 310 students and I saw where someone said how children know more about technology than their parents do. Uhm, Scary! How are parents supposed to express to their children the dangers of the web if they don't even understand it themselves? Even my mother, who is a police officer, is a little technology illiterate. I will admit she is learning! But I would feel a lot safer if I knew that people who were in charge of protecting me knew how to handle more technology than I do. The point is, everyone should be encouraged to use and explore the internet and to utilize all of the wonderful tools. Just be cautious of all of the dangers. As far as who this man is, well, he is genius. Simple as that.