Oops - late blog

I might as well just get it out there - this blog is late. I can't believe I forgot to blog! It just goes to show how someone who doesn't usually use this sort of stuff can easily blow it off in favor of bad television (which is, sadly, what happened). I wish we had a specific topic to blog about. All this freedom is just too much for me. My brain is sort of an overcrowded wasteland, and if not properly directed, can get away from me. So, I think I'll piggy back on Erin's topic, if she doesn't mind (thank you, Erin!) http://techtechgoose.blogspot.com/. She mentioned how teachers will use rap or other "cool" teaching tactics, and their reasons behind it. The fact is, that stuff really works! I know when my teachers busted out with a rap song about the Constitution or something, it was always so lame I couldn't help but remember it. So maybe the teacher's plans of being cool backfired, but if it makes the kids laugh, then they're not likely to forget it. It's a win-win situation. It's the same with technology. If we at least make an effort to reach them on their level, they will probably appreciate it more than if we use an overhead projector simply because we know how it works.

I'm all for the idea of using cell phones and other portable devices in schools. Why not? In today's society, it's really all about finding the answer - not necessarily retrieving it from memory. So what if the kids don't have all the historical dates memorized? If they can do a quick search and find them, isn't that all that matters? They use Google all the time anyway to search for Britney Spears and gosh knows what else, so let them apply the same methods to their schoolwork, and they'll probably surprise us with how much great information they can find. Chances are, if they are forced to memorize a bunch of people and places and dates, they'll forget them all after the test anyway (I did). So why not teach them effective searching skills they'll end up using most of their lives instead?