Ramble #12

As always we will begin with a video. This week's video is from the YouTube channel Ted-ed. The channel is dedicated to educational content. It is mostly animated and very informative. As teachers it is a tremendous resource because the content on the channel crosses all subject areas. 

Here is an example:

This week in class we had the pleasure of listening to a presentation from Dr. Alec Couros. The presentation was centered around the contemporary world of technology. Specifically, he discussed the highs and lows of technology. He mentioned the many ways that technology has made our lives better. Notably, he pointed to the tremendous ability of technology to connect us all as humans. He also talked about the downsides and potential dangers of the contemporary world of technology. 

Overall, I was very impressed with Dr. Couros' ability to balance the highs and lows of modern technology. I have that very same perspective on technology today. Some of my thoughts on that I had mentioned in my post last week. It is so very important that while we enjoy the many benefits and joys of current technology we still understand and respond to the potential dangers of it (Dr. Couros talked about identity theft).

It was extremely interesting when Dr. Couros was discussing the digital signatures of children. He mentioned that a staggering statistic of children have a digital signature/footprint before they were even born (sonograms posted on Facebook for example). This is wild! I am not here to judge, but it a very different world that babies are coming into nowadays as compared to when I was born, that is for sure.

After the talk I went and followed Dr. Couros on Twitter and intend to keep up on his happenings. He was a very talented and informative speaker!

Until next week,

Justin