Carrie Schmelkin : Gossip from the Hallways
Carrie Schmelkin
Web Editor, TMC

November 2011

You are browsing the archive for November 2011.

Are Students Introduced to Technology Way Too Early?

November 29, 2011

‘Tis the season to make New Year’s resolutions and as part of its resolutions, several prominent technology companies – including big shots Google and Microsoft – have announced that they are backing proposals that will introduce several significant changes to the U.K. IT educational system.

Among the changes are for children to be taught about how computers work as opposed to simply learning how to use them. Specifically, software coding and programming lessons could be implemented in the classroom.

The College Student 'I'm Thankful for' List

November 22, 2011

I’m definitely in the Thanksgiving mood. Maybe it’s because the leaves outside have beautifully turned auburn and golden. Or perhaps it’s because I can finally start sporting the best fall trends such as Uggs, leather jackets, and North Face fleeces. But it’s probably mostly because we just finished our company pot luck lunch and I am in a tryptophan-induced coma.

Drawbacks of the 21st Century Teaching Model

November 17, 2011

Do you want your students to be able to talk with Stephenie Meyer to find out how she got inspiration for the “Twilight” saga, but your school is in New York and she is stationed in Arizona? Do you wish you could take your students to the museum in your town for a field trip, but your school can’t afford to pay for the trip? Or perhaps you would love to allow your students to get a global experience and work with kids in a British school (all without having to fly, of course).

Fortunately, in the 21st Century school environment, video conferencing is making all of these wishes a very possible reality.

Does 'Jersey Shore' Promote Cyberbullying?

November 15, 2011

When we watched characters like Snooki and Vinny disparage Angelina on season 1 and 2 of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” – like when Vinny said, “OK, Kim Kardashian... more like the Rob Kardashian of Staten Island, you ugly b*tch!” – we all laughed, whether we wanted to admit it or not.

And every time Pauly D and the Situation refer to what they deem unattractive, heavier girls as “grenades,” we can’t help but crack a grin at their outlandish statements, like this one made by the Situation in the first season: “When you go into battle, you need to have some friends with you so that just in case a grenade gets thrown at you, one of your buddies takes it first.”

But what are the repercussions for hearing these degrading statements once a week on MTV?

Could You Lose Your Teaching Job to a Robot?

November 3, 2011

21st Century cinema often stares into the Magic Eight Ball and projects a future filled with robots as babysitters, food in the form of pills, teleporters and computers that talk back to you in the workplace. But what about robots as teachers?

Is that just a scary motion-picture concept or a very feasible reality?

While I don’t want to worry you educators out there, robots are already starting to replace teachers, specifically in South Korean schools.

Students: Say No to Cell Phones (Yup, You Read that Right)

November 1, 2011

Do you fall asleep with your cell phone next to your head and check for new messages anytime you wake up during the middle of the night? Is texting important in helping you connect with your old college roommate or elementary school friend? Are you embarrassed to admit you have secretly read messages in your boyfriend’s inbox on his cell phone when he wasn’t looking?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have more in common with Generation Y – or Generation Mobile, as the age group is commonly called – than you think.