Pay Attention!
This is a fantastic video created by Darren Draper from the Jordan School District. His aim was to motivate teachers to more effectively use technology in their teaching.
It is a goodie and has already been viewed thousands of times at both You Tube and Teacher Tube. I will certainly be showing parts of this video at one of our staff meetings next term. Definitely inspiring, motivating and thought provoking!
Topics covered:
- Multiple intelligences of the students we teach - they are also digital learners
- Statistics on these "digital learners" use of technologies
- Blooms' revised taxonomy and how important it is to have students creating
- Using the technology that students' love to: create/teach/reach/engage students more effectively
- Using the power of the internet and cell phones in teaching
The great thing about remix culture is that you can see things created in one form resurfacing again in another. Karl Fisch's orginal "Did You Know?" still has the most impact for me. I suppose the only thing that rubs me the wrong way about these videos is their US centric view of the audience. You and I know there's a world beyond the 50 states, and some of the classroom freedoms we enjoy should make this sort of learning environment achievable.
ReplyDeleteGraham-
ReplyDeleteYou point is valid about the fact that there is a world beyond the 50 states. To be honest, when I created the video I was not even thinking beyond our own district. I never realized that "Pay Attention" would gain so much traction.
That said, however, I don't see how the video is US centric. Is there no Internet access outside of the US? Are there no cell phones nor iPods? Of course all of these technologies blanket the entire planet. We should, therefore, all be using them to teach - regardless of our location and cultural bias.
Darren Draper
Wow, lucky I checked back here because I didn't expect the creator of the video to chime in! Sorry if my words sounded negative (probably a poor choice of words) and I appreciate that you couldn't have predicted how viral this video has become. You tailored it to your audience and that's fair enough but I can see that there are quite a few US centric references that maybe only being outside of the US come across as obvious. The stats about college students are US based (we don't have a college system - university or VTE options for Oz/NZ students)in fact all of the stats are US based so we (Australians, Kiwis, Malaysians, anyone) could be making assumptions based on another culture's school system and there are major differences in how we deliver our education to our students. The one question every ten hours statement is amazing if it's true because my own classroom is founded on the student empowered through questions and again reflects more on the US style of education than what is prevalent on a global scale. Cell phone is a North American term, as is pop quiz, spelling bee - not to mention the astronomical charges from telcos in various parts of the world that make some of the ideas very expensive to implement.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I am hoping someone local more talented than me will re-spin your excellent message and ideas into something my peers won't disregard just because "It's American. How relevant is that to us?" Darren, I'm just thinking out loud and not wanting to detract from a video resource that so many have found invaluable. But I would be dishonest if I view something and not reflect my true impressions and just nod my head just because everyone else is doing so. Good luck - I'm off to subscribe to your blog.
Rachel, thanks for hosting this brief discussion!