My Assessment of My Energy Presentation Video

Earlier I delivered a presentation on the energy I save from riding the bus over driving a car, the slideshow of which is located here.

What follows are my thoughts on the project.

Overall I was impressed with the video of my presentation. I said "um" and other similar words very little. I was articulate, although I may have spoken a little too quickly relative to my content of explaining math concepts. While in a speech repetition absolutely isn't bad in and of itself, I repeated myself a few times in a silly manner when explaining why I set up an equation the way I did. Also, while I personally found my presentation interesting (as it was filled with math being applied to the real world), most students probably found it boring. I also spoke for close to ten minutes, which perhaps was a little too long. Unfortunately, save for my title page, I had no graphics, something that I believe tremendously enhances a presentation.

Article Assessment #3

For class I read three articles on the use of technology in education. What follows are my thoughts on "The Overdominance of Computers" by Lowell W. Monke.

I found myself in deep agreement with Monke's arguments. I believe that while it is absolutely necessary for us to prepare our youth for living in a technologically advanced world, it is even more essential for us to develop their minds, including self-discipline, morals, ethics, ambition, judgement, empathy, sympathy, reasoning, logic and kindness. These qualities are not developed by mindlessly watching the tube and playing video games all day, although watching educational programs on the television (including those on PBS, Discovery, National Geographic and the History Channel) and playing educational video games can and do help significantly.

I agree with Monke that elementary school should not be saturated with technology, but should have very little of it. Humans are most impressionable and formative during their early years, and it is extremely important for children to have, in the words of Monke, "a deep knowledge of the physical world and community relationships" around them. If children spend too much time in virtual reality while developing, they stand a good chance of forever bearing a disconnect to physical reality. We need to slowly introduce students to technology in order to ensure they lead spiritually fulfilling lives.