Sunday, June 21, 2015

Blog Post #8- What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?

http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-the-brick-walls-are-there-for-a-reason-the-brick-walls-are-not-there-to-keep-us-out-the-brick-randy-pausch-258548.jpgThe video Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams is about, well, exactly what the title says, Randy Pausch and his childhood dreams. We first learn that Randy was diagnosed with cancer and was given a certain amount of time to live, but he lived longer than the doctor's expectations. Randy is very inspirational, needless to say! I love how he set up his lecture, he really makes it a very laid back experience yet gets his point across very strongly. He first discusses his childhood dreams and how he achieved them. He is also very entertaining, I laughed so much while watching this video! He discusses when he became a professor and the first assignment he assigned his class, which was to create their own virtual worlds. He did not set any limitations on what they could create or what it had to be. He talks about how well his students did on this project and that he just did not know what to do next, so he was told to tell them, "Guys, that was good, but I know you can do better." This was because he obviously didn't know where to set the limits for the class, and by not setting any limits his students just kept getting better. He continues to use the quote "brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance show us how badly we want something." This is such a powerful quote, it really shows that you should not let the brick walls stand in your way on your path to success. "Have something to bring to the table, you will be more welcome." This quote also speaks volume to me. This is so true, if you are good at something and have something to share with others, then you will be more welcome. I love "head fake". Randy says that "the best way to teach someone something, is to have them think they're learning something else." This is such a smart method, especially when it comes to teaching children. For example, when the students are using iMovie for a project, they just think that they are making a movie or trailer about something; when really they are learning a new technology and how to use it to create something in order to teach or share information with their classmates. I really enjoyed this video and found Randy to be such an inspiration.



4 comments:

  1. I think this video is very inspirational.The idea of teaching the students one thing but they are learning something different is awesome.

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  2. I really like the picture you posted with the text! I definitely agree when he says "Have something to bring to the table, you will be more welcome." !

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  3. "...speaks volume to me." volumes, not volume

    Thoughtful. Well done.

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