It really is everywhere...

This week I have been looking on the BBC News website and the Guardian website an awful lot... perhaps there has been a lot of interesting things in the news, or perhaps I am procrastinating.

Anyway, I came across this article about Barack Obama and how he is using Youtube to communicate his weekly updates to his public.

The article states; 'Obama's use of YouTube is the tip of a technological iceberg that is transforming politics in the US.' Obama is praised for already showing the world he intends to move the USA forward, and technology is one way in which he intends to do this!

Of course this is not a use of ICT in education, however this modern approach to politics is likely to encourage more and more young people to become interested in, and aware of world politics. This could have a great influence on their enthusiasm about their education, particularly perhaps in history.


Another interesting article I found was one from the BBC News website on virtual classrooms. The teacher from the college featured in this video is quoted as saying: "The world is changing, and we need to respond in how we're educating our young people today."
I think this article makes a valid point in that it shows how technology can be used to encourage young people who are perhaps uninterested in or struggling with education to become more involved.

In our most recent Science lesson we studied Earth and Beyond and therefore had to discuss the problems of having to teach things that you cannot demonstrate realistically in the classroom. This kind of virtual world is great for these kinds of demonstrations, as long as the pupils realise that what they are seeing is a simulation.


Finally, I have also been having a look at Teachertube. I found this site to be comprised of many humorous video clips as well as some very good teaching tools. However the first video I watched really struck me. It is called 'Pay Attention' and is simply words and music. I had heard a lot of the facts before, but it was only when I watched them in sequence on this video that they actually sunk in and I gave myself time to think about them. They became real. One of the most thought provoking quotes from this video is as follows.

Do any of your students use Google?

Did you know that there are over 2.7 billion searches performed on Google each month?

To whom were these questions addressed B.G? (before Google)

This highlighted to me the importance of the internet in education - Google really is an educational tool, as it encourages people to ask questions. Arguably the best way to learn.