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I have to start this week’s summary with the one item that I thought about throughout the week. That is Prof. Kevin Warwik and cyborg technology. My first thought was that I don’t agree with what he is doing, but then I started to think about the benefits. While I don’t think it would get to the level he stated where cyborgs are the next step in our evolution, I do see many medical and educational benefits. I feel that students still need to learn through experience, not by some chip implanted in their head. This would be helpful after a student or a person has the knowledge needed. The chips would help them improve in a specific area. I also thought about the difference this would make on a battlefield. If soldiers are trained in a certain area, then had chips implanted that gave them knowledge on treating trauma, more soldiers would survive battlefield wounds. This technology would also help people who have lost a limb. The implanted chip could connect the individual’s brain with the prosthetic to operate it more efficiently.

The next area that stood out to me was reading 5 titled “If I teach this way, am I doing my job: Constructivism in the classroom” (Sprague, 2009). I currently work with another teacher that has taught for over 40 years. His teaching style fits exactly like Edmund Etheridge. (Sprague, 2009). My teaching style is like Elizabeth Adrian’s (Sprague, 2009). My room is typically loud, much to his disliking, and his room is silent. He gives the same lecture he has for the past 40 years, and the students learn through memorizing math facts. When I first started teaching many experienced staff complained that I had an unruly room and kids were not learning anything. Then my TAKS test scores came back and that opinion changed. This article backed everything I do. There are some things that I got from Ms. Adrian’s example that I currently do not do. The biggest idea was to use a pda (which I have) to track student progress. Once started, the tracking and updating in my PC would be habit. This would give better support during parent meetings and updates to administration. This would also assist in tracking how my individual students are doing which would improve their long term success.

References:

Sprague, D. & Dede, C. (1999). If I teach this way, am I doing my job: Constructivism in the classroom. // Leading and learning, 27(1). //Retrieved from the International Society for Technology in Education at []

Warwick, K. (nd). // Cyborg Life. //Youtube.com. Retrieved on Feb. 22, 2011 from []