Parkour, a new way to get a good work out or can this particular idea be a new metaphor of “whats possible”. What is possible in the line of education you may ask, Jim Groom sees parkour as a new way of referring to how a better education could be achieved which is an amazing thought. Something like parkour can now be paralleled to education which I am sure will get a lot of kids talking. It is cool and challenging just like how education should be.
In his lecture given at Kansas State University, Jim Groom explores the idea of parkour and the principles that are set around it. The first thing that he talks about though is Wikipedia. Immediately some fear is hatched into the minds of the teachers sitting in the audience and for good reason. Everyone knows that Wikipedia is loved by students, but a non credible source! Carrying on though as nothing happened, Jim tells us that Wikipedia defines parkour as “a training method that focuses on rational movement in both the natural and urban environments, to move around obstacles with speed and proficiency”, to create new “pathways”. This definition almost sounds like something Dr. Vontz (core teaching instructor at K-state) would say about effective teaching. The problem still stands though, Wikipedia said it. Jim chooses to see the good in the Internet and how it can benefit those who are brave enough to explore its vast secrets. Wikipedia has the potential to be great, better than great, incredible. A completely free resource that can sustain millions of hits daily. Of course it needs some work. It is just exciting to think of this new age technology and what implications it will bring for our future teachers. Jim captures his audience right away with his enthusiasm about the topic of technology and makes us willing to leap into the unknown.
It doesn’t take long before we see how much knowledge Jim has acquired about technology, but he has the ability to keep it simple for those of us who are not quite to the advanced level he is. After captivating the audience he moves right into another subject that some educators are starting to fear. Will things like Universities become obsolete with the advancement of technology? Can the Internet take over education system and make teachers a thing of the past, with online courses popping up everywhere it is hard to see how it can’t. Jim says NO! Although technology is a gift it should not replace the wonderful people who are there to teach it.This question helps lead Jim into one of his main points of how technology is a tool that must be used in the classroom today.
Everything today is online and without the skills to navigate the world wide web finding a job might be very difficult. The Internet can be a insightful tool for kids and adults to use and learn from and is the future for this generation as well as the next. Jim brings up his next topic of blogging and how it can be more that just Facebook. Jim like many others hear blogging and cringe, but after doing a little research Jim finds that blogging is becoming a natural aspect of life. Looking into the study abroad sites, Jim finds that even though blogging is not a requirement, many of students who have that opportunity naturally blog about their experiences. This use of the Internet is not something that is new for the social aspect of life, but can now be a new learning tool. Teachers and students alike can now use blogs to their advantage to communicate about several things.
After being able to see Jim lecture I now understand that teaching technology is a necessity for kids and adults. It has vast potential and can be a helpful tool, especially for turningabout assignments or events that will be happening. A new tool that has now been exposed to me is a blogging webpage which is specific to the needs of teachers and students alike; Edmodo.com. This new age is something that we have to be prepared for even if it means being open to the ideas of Wikipedia and parkour.
