This cartoon by John T. Spencer was found on his blog. This cartoon reminded me of the mac commercial that I used to have time to watch on television!! The commercials described how the macs were better than the p.c.
So I decided to do some online research on these two pencils and I found that everyone has personal choice. I found a teachers Blog that said that both paper mate and Ticonderoga were both expensive. She stated that Ticonderoga pencils are made of high quality wood so they sharpen better. She also stated that the paper-mate pencils go on sale right before school starts. As far as "value" she rated the paper mate better. I found another blog that stated that the Paper-mate warrior pencils were .05 cent more than the Ticonderoga pencils and that the papermate pencils did not perform as well. Find that blog here. Before being assigned to read Spencers blog, I had never heard of a Ticonderoga pencil. I'm thinking to myself "its just a pencil"!!
I guess he is comparing what the children are forced to use in schools since technology is not really present in most school systems.
Why Were Your Kids Playing Games
This Post by Mr. Spencer was about how the principal of his school was upset because Mr. Spencer had his children engaged in learning by playing a game. The principal felt that because the children were having fun that they were not learning. The post was really humorous because at the beginning Mr. Spencer asked the principle if he could shut the door and the principle responded that he had an "open door policy to keep up" too funny. The principle was confused from the beginning.
I read another post on Mr. Spencer blog it was titled Will We Fall Behind? it was very interesting. The title of this blog is Adventures in Pencil Integration. I feel that Mr. Spencer is not trying to dismiss the use of pencils, but that he is trying to integrate that use with the use of technology. This post was about a man name Mr. Brown who questioned the proposal to buy new pencils for every student. While reading the post Mr. Brown stated that he did not feel that it would be in the best option of the students and that his concerns had nothing to do with his own comfort level. I feel this post was actually talking about technology. Most schools do not use technology because the teachers are not familiar with how to use it. Many of the assignments that I have completed while taking EDM310 were all new to me. I have no problem learning new things. It has been exciting to me. Teachers need to humble themselves and realize that they do not know it all. Every opportunity that presents itself for them to learn something new should be taken.
In the post by Dr. Scott McLeod, he was telling someone not to teach their kids the things that he was already teaching his kids. The post was very humorous. It's like he wanted his child to be ahead of all the other children so he pointed out all the negatives in using technology to advance. So Dr. McLeod's children will more than likely have the leg up on the children who are not using technology. While reading the comments left on the blog some of the students seemed confused as if Dr. McLeod did not like technology. In fact he did cause at the end he stated that he allows his children to use it. Also some of the students were stating that certain things should be blocked and that children should be monitored while using the internet. I agree to a certain extent. Some parents will block things like Facebook and twitter, but these two sites can also be very helpful. When my babies get older I plan to allow them to have Facebook and twitter. I just believe that we should just monitor who their friends are. It's all about trust and I feel that if we cannot trust our children inside of our homes chatting on blogs or Facebook then how can we trust them having face to face conversations at school or at the movies. Trust Trust Trust! I knew the name Scott McLeod sounded familiar and I finally figured it out. Earlier in the semester we were required to watch an edited version of "did you know", Dr McLeod was the one who did the first video with Karl. I found this information on this site feel free to check it out. Dr. McLeod was also the founding director of CASTLE which helps school administrators learn about technology.
Hi Jamie!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post, it was interesting. I was also reminded of the MAC vs. PC commercial after reading this cartoon. How funny! I think it is great that you did so much research on the two pencils.
I like what you had to say about Mr. Spencer's blog posts. I agree that a lot of schools don't use technology because the teachers and administrators are intimidated by it. To that I say, learn! EDM 310 was probably a little different to all of us at first, but we got used to it. Teachers should take the initiative to familiarize themselves with technology so they can take their teaching/lessons to a whole new level.
Although I enjoyed your comments on Dr. Mcleod's post, I came to a slightly different conclusion. Which in no way makes yours wrong and mine right. I thought Dr. Mcleod was poking fun and criticizing the teachers who don't use technology in their lessons.
Again, I enjoyed reading your post. Good Luck with the last 2 weeks!
Ashley Earnest
So we were suppose to evaluate ourselves for this blog post. I covered every step in the blog post assignment for this week. I have included alt and title modifiers, pic, and links to the sites. I think that I did a very good job on this post!!
ReplyDeleteJamie,
ReplyDeleteAlthough I liked the creativity and personality that you brought to your post, it could have been a lot better. First, it seems you missed the point John Spencer is trying to make with the Papermate versus Ticonderoga cartoon. You eluded to the PC/Mac commercial but did not seem to connect this to Spencer's cartoon in the way that he is talking about technology as a metaphor for simple tools. In using pencils as placeholders for computers, he is urging us to consider how computers might replace simple tools like pencils. This causes the reader to ponder....should they? What would be the consequences of investing in technology to do the job of something much cheaper but that requires more effort?
Also, you seem to miss McLeod's sarcasm. Could you see a director of an organization that helps schools to implement technology, "telling someone not to teach their kids the things that he was already teaching his kids" and pointing "out all the negatives in using technology to advance"? It seems you may have somewhat arrived at this conclusion judging by the context of your post, but be sure to tie up loose ends before ending a piece of writing. McLeod's intent was to satire the fear that people have of technology, their instinct to be over-protective, and also poking fun at people who want their kids to be "the best". He does it in a sneaky way to avoid stepping on anyone's toes or taking it personally or literally...
Keep up the good work! Almost done with EDM310!
Carly