EDLD+5364+Week+5+Reflection

When I began EDLD 5364, I perceived this class would be a “cake walk.” After all, I teach technology. But these past five weeks have been anything but a cake walk. There are so many innovative Web 2.0 tools to be discovered and so many scholars whose studies fly in the very face of conventional teaching wisdom. If I could paraphrase the entirety of James Paul Gees’ video, I would. In his words, a group is “… smarter than the smartest person in the group.” (Edutopia 2010) Do I pair an overachieving student with an underachieving student during group work in an effort to raise the entire ability of the group? Currently, my students do not collaborate with other school districts, but they do engage in group work within the classroom. Although James’ vision was global, I need to pare his thoughts down to my classroom initially, and then consider branching out to other school districts. I am focusing on James Paul Gee’s video because the readings were still “within the box” of knowledge I came into EDLD 5364 with, and videos 1 and 6 were an introduction and a conclusion to “what a wonderful world it could be (with technology).” Yes, I perceive my job as “sexy,” but only to a point! Is it sexy to be on the cutting edge of technology? Absolutely. But I cannot end this reflection with only two paragraphs without including Howard Gardner. Howard Gardner has spent 15 years studying the ethical sense of young people in his Good Play Project. His entire monologue hit me hard. No longer are teachers merely “disseminators of information.” (Edutopia 2010) We are parents, guardians, psychologists, and a lot more for many of our students. Yes, students can glean information and facts from the internet. It is now our job, as educators, to fill the gap between learning and home, as well as socially acceptable moirés for business.  Edutopia.org (nd). // Big Thinkers: Howard Gardner on Digital Youth. // Retrieved on March 23, 2011 from [] Edutopia.org (nd). // Big thinkers: James Paul Gee on grading with games. // Retrieved on March 23, 2011 from [] 