C4T Summary

"Leading nations will found their success on their ability to develop their intellectual capabilities, and by creating and innovating to solve problems that don't even exist yet." This quote by Steve Wheeler pretty much sums up his first blog post. He warns us that success in the future is going to depend on the education systems that we have in place, rather than the amount of natural resources and monetary capital. In essence, weak minds will lead to weak nations, which will end up in poverty and eventually lead to collapse. The future will be based on uninvented technology, and we have to have intellectual minds that are ready and capable of processing and utilizing this new information so that it will be beneficial to us. I agreed with him that students who aren't prepared in the classroom to utilize their minds to think for themselves and create a better future will be the ones who fall behind in such a technologically advanced world.

In his second post, Steve tells us what a gold mine social media really is. For one, it allows for what he calls "active learning". What he means by this is letting students express what they've learned, whether it be through blogposts, podcasts, or something more advanced; rather than feeding them the information with no chance for them to reproduce the new knowledge. These are effective tools to use because they allow the students to share their work with others and gain valuable connections and feedback. He reminds us that this can only happen if teachers are willing to utilize these tools for what they're really worth, and if school districts will be willing to unblock these resources. I definitely concur with his thoughts. Spreading the knowledge that they have learned gives them a valuable experience that they will be more likely to remember in the long run. Not only that, learning how to share information early is vital to success in future endeavors.