Recommended Blogs

     The blog I chose to read from the recommended list was "The Innovative Educator" by Lisa Nielsen. Lisa is an advocate of new and innovative ways to teach and learn, including using the latest technology that may not be widely accepted among the average classrooms. Her moves and opinions are risky and controversial, but her innovations will probably be used often in classrooms within the next couple of years. For example, Lisa encourages the use of cell phones between students and educators, and even adds her students as friends on Facebook. For those of us who currently work in schools, we might think that these practices are completely inappropriate, but who knows, we will probably adapt to these practices ourselves before we know it. When I was in high school, parents and teachers did not even communicate via email, and now both would be lost without it.

     I thought it was fun and interesting that Lisa allows guest posts on her blog, and frequently references other blogs or articles to agree or disagree with. One particular guest post caught my interest. The blogger was a mother of four who home-schools her children. She was responding to an article written by a teacher who wants parents to stop hovering over their children's school careers and admit that their children are capable of making mistakes. He frequently interacts with parents who do not believe him or take offense to anything other than praise he is willing to give their children, or parents who believe that their child is an excellent student based on his or her grades (implying that some teachers only give good grades so they will be left alone). The blogger responded with outrage that someone would dare expect her to not take her child's side or think him or her capable of poor behavior.

     My response to this blog post does not have much to do with technology as it does to my beliefs about home-schooling, but I promise to make a connection. I do not believe that home-schooling allows children to reach their full academic or social potentials, especially when the educator is the parents themselves. I do not believe that a parent is capable of having an objective opinion of his or her child's school work the way that a regular teacher would, thus risking the validity of the child's grades and the amount of knowledge that they are really obtaining. Home-schooled students also cannot thrive in the social environment that schools provide and will likely have a lot of trouble later in life when they are no longer sheltered by the walls of their kitchens during the day.

     In terms of technology, schools, which receive funding from the state or from student tuition, have the ability to provide students with types of technology that they would likely never be able to benefit from at home. Let's face it, iPads are expensive enough, can a family afford to install a SmartBoard in their home? Also, certain programs that students use on computers in school are not available for individual purchase, you have to be affiliated with a school or company to buy it. Overall, students are exposed to and learn how to operate certain technology in schools that their parents would not be able to provide. The technology in schools helps students to learn in new and innovative ways that stray from the traditional pencil and paper methods and improve the learning experience.