I kind of took a different interpretation of Mr. Spencer's pencil artwork. I feel as though it may have been a way of saying that you don't have to buy the fanciest things in order to get the job done. Papermate pencils make break more than the Ticonderoga pencils, but they are inexpensive and work just fine. They may be of a lower quality but they still get the job done. Also, the higher end pencil could be considered technology. Technology versus old school, to be exact. Pencils versus technology. I believe that hits the nail right on the head.
Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?"
It is very important to engage student's minds in the classroom. Though to some teachers and administrators, the main goal is to get those empty slates full of memorized information for the standardized tests at the end of the quarter. Soon to forget everything that was in the slate. Burp back education at it's finest.
Games should not be pulled from the curriculum. Any thing that allows the students to actively participate in a lesson or activity is great! When students actively participate they have better chances of remembering the knowledge and truly learning it. Not just learn it for the test and soon forget it. 10 Points on Pencils is another one of his blog posts that I read. I really like his view on pencils and new technology. He actually made me chuckle a bit in this post. I believe students should utilize whatever source of technology they choose in order to further their knowledge. Becoming more familiar with any item of technology is great. Students should become more familiar with these items in order to gain knowledge.
Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
To say the very least, Dr. Scott McLeod is one of the leading experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues in the nation. His article about technology and what not to teach your kids has a lot of validity to it, in an opposite kind of way. His post has a valid argument of parent issues and concerns with technology. Though, many parents facilitate their children with cell phones, computers, and other electronic devices, they still have concerns about the use of the internet.
His post states many things that parents say like "they're probably looking at porn" or bring up the issue of cyber bullying. Technology is very important today in collaboration with education. The key to this is proper supervision.
Papermate is a metaphor for a PC. Ticonderoga is a metaphor for a Mac. The cartoon characters resemble the stars of the long series (66 over 4 years) of Apple ads starring John Hodgman as PC and Justin Long as Mac.
ReplyDeleteIn other writings Spencer uses pencils as a metaphor for computers or technology in general.
Dr. McLeod uses satire and his sarcastic message is: you can try to keep your kids away from technology which is fine with me. Mine will use it and speed past your kids in skills, abilities and rewards.
Hi Angela!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! Although it wasn't exactly what the artist meant when he drew the cartoon, it was very interesting to read someone else's interpretation. There were a few people who didn't understand the commercial reference because they don't watch tv. I also loved your comments on the "Why Are Your Kids Playing Games?" post. One suggestion I have, is to briefly summarize the posts when you write about them, so that readers can understand why and how your thoughts flow with the post you are talking about.
Great post. Keep up the good work!
Katelyn Fleming