Week 1 Post - Generation Z, Modern Classrooms and Creativity in Schools

Generation Z Slideshow:

The Generation Z slideshow, whilst short and compelling, reasserted my conceptions about the students that I will eventually teach. Having already interacted with Generation Z students in my first professional practice, the statistics about how often students used technology as well as the fact that they would use social media as resources for homework and assessment, did not surprise me very much.
However, I was intrigued by the notion that e-learning or digital pedagogies should be integrated into the classroom at a 100% rate.
This slideshow, overall, solidified my preconceptions about the reliance Generation Z students have on technology but it opened my eyes to the limitless opportunities I have to implement technology into the classroom, allowing the students to obtain their highest learning potential.

Big Thinkers Video:

This, of the three presentations, was the one that spoke the clearest to me, with the most predominate ideas being ensuring the classroom is constantly engaging but not overpowering, making sure the classroom is a safe, calm environment and teaching students tools to use in the real world IE: Analytical problem solving.
All of these ideas are directly what I wish to use as my form of pedagogies in the classroom and how/what I wish for my students to learn.
These ideas in particular are what I believe to be extremely important in keeping the focus of Generation Z. I believe the best way to get students to learn is through ensuring they have a emotionally and physically safe environment, creating a real world attachment to the work and constantly engaging students through means such as colour coding information and creating surprises in the classroom.
I believe that if I can successfully encompass these main ideas and some of the others mentioned by Willis into my classroom and pedagogies - whilst placing the most emphasis on having a safe environment, I can create the best opportunities for students to learn in this technology heavy world.

Ted - Creativity and the 21st Century

Whilst not the presentation I felt to be the most influential, Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk raises some very valid points which rotate specifically relating towards how the academic hierarchy has not changed even with the increase of technology and the fact that society has been for too long educated out of creativity.
The academic hierarchy as it is now and as it has been for a long time in every education system, has placed Maths and Languages at the top and those with Arts or creativity at the bottom.
For a long time, students who were interested or invested in these subjects were often told that their interests or skills would not amount to any sort of job and career for the future.

E-learning however is beginning to change this, by allowing students access to technology on a constant basis and ensuring it stays relevant in society, due to the fact that this technology is allowing students to look to jobs in which they can spread their wings and make the most of their creativity.