This was a really cool project I did for health class. I got to be the teacher for a class period and make a presentation about a topic of my choosing (in relation to health). I used PearDeck, an application for Google Drive that allowed students to respond to the slides when prompted anonymously on their computers. This was my first time speaking in front of a class for this long and having to answer so many unexpected questions so it's a little shaky but I think I did pretty well. Tell me what you think!
In an earlier post, I referred to this day in age as the Technological Revolution. What exactly makes for a revolution? Well, I am currently learning about the Scientific Revolution in 9th grade World Studies. Centuries ago, the development of new sciences changed the faces of education, trade, communication, and understanding of the world around us. The studies of nature, astronomy, physics, and anatomy helped mankind to comprehend how the world worked. New technological advancements helped people to travel, to trade, and to communicate. Since then, communication has become so much easier. In 1991, nearly 500 years from the beginning of the scientific revolution, email was made available to the public. In 2005, the social media site “Facebook” was developed. In 2006, twitter was developed. The first generation of iPhones was released in 2007. Since then, ways to communicate have only grown bigger and better. The 21st century has been a time of great technological advancement, and it is on track to grow significantly as we move forward in this technological timeline. But how, exactly, has this technology brought about an educational revolution? Well, first of all, information has become much easier to find. Do any of you remember actually going to the library, picking out a reference book, and turning pages to find the answers to your homework’s questions? Luckily, I don’t. It sounds tedious. Secondly, the information I can find about the world on the internet is so much newer, so much more relevant. My American History textbook told me that there has never been an African American president of the United States of America. A quick “Google” search for “who is the president of the US?” could easily tell me otherwise. A textbook is a documentation of one point of view. Pages upon pages of things that one specific group of people found to be most important. The computer I’m typing on can give me millions upon billions of perspectives. And, as I’ve asked you before, what is life without perspective? The above diagram compares and contrasts this Technological Revolution to the Scientific Revolution referenced before. These revolutions have brought about new technology, they’ve enhanced our ability to understand, they’ve encouraged new ways of thinking, they’ve further developed global communication, they’ve provided new perspective, and they’ve reinvented the concept of education. That sounds pretty revolutionary to me. If I had to list the top two places I use to find information, the second of the two might surprise you. First, of course, is school, although there are days and weeks I go without absorbing ANY information at all. Memorizing, maybe, but hardly ever comprehending. The second, and possibly most important, is the video sharing site “YouTube.” Despite its reputation for videos of cats and silly memes, I have found many educational channels that may very well have changed my education and comprehensive ability for the better. While, I admit, I have spent my fair share of time watching Top 100 channels like JennaMarbles, Smosh, and ShaneDawsonTV, all of which are specifically for entertainment purposes, I have found myself scrolling through educational videos and channels on a daily basis.
If it weren’t for a song by Hank Green, I wouldn’t have learned about quarks, protons, or neutrons. I wouldn’t have really learned it, and I would never have really enjoyed it. If it weren’t for Crash Course World History, I never would’ve cared about Imperialism or Globalization, and to be honest, I would never even know their definitions. If it weren’t for MinutePhysics, I would never understand Schrodinger’s cat, nor would I really know anything about science at all. If it weren’t for the Vlogbrothers, I might never have really learned to comprehend the world around me, and what sort of life would could a person live without perspective? That’s what the internet has given me, I suppose. Perspective. Understanding. And I am more than grateful for that. Furthermore, I may have even learned things from Facebook, which may seem quite impossible. Of course, I don’t learn much from the vague, late night status posted about past relationships. However, many of the statuses on the site have taught me of current events. Maybe those current events did exactly have the most reliable and unbiased information, but nevertheless, they sparked the motivation in me to study the world around me. And I am grateful for that as well. Lastly, there’s that trusty old search engine that you’ve probably heard of before, “Google.” When I’m not searching about Miley Cyrus’s performance at the Video Music Awards 2013, I may be searching for information for homework, articles for the school Newspaper, or even perspectives on the concept of school curriculum itself. I, like most students, use Google on a day-to-day basis. Maybe our grandparents are right when they tell us how these laptops are rotting our brains, tearing us apart. However, I, myself, believe that the internet is bringing about a revolution, in education, in communities, and in life itself. No one can give a definitive answer to whether we’re changing for the better or for the worse, but I know, for sure, that we’re changing indefinitely. |
This page is retired as of Fall 2017. Future posts will fall under "The College Years" tab on this site. Thank you to everyone who made this blog as successful as it was. I invite you to continue to follow me on my journey to becoming an educator.
AuthorI'm Cameron Godfrey and I'm here to leave a legacy. Archives
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