Technology Teacher: SWEET JUSTICE… United Airlines & GUITARS being thrown around!

I have a smile on my face and I am humming a tune.

Revenge is sweet! Actually it is not really revenge as much as it is JUSTICE!

Listen/watch, and if you don’t get the story from the song, there’s more explanation below, or you can go to David Warlick’s blog post at 2 Cents where he has even more links for you.

SORRY for the video being too wide to see it all. Anyone who can give me advice how to make it work I would be appreciative. (I tried changing the embed code, but it didn’t change anything!) You can click on the title of this bog post to go straight to UTube!

It is especially poetic to me, as several years back, I was running down the tarmac after a US AIR plane and had a different, yet similar (the bad experience part!), resulting experience!

Unfortunately, I did not have the expertise to make a singing video or the notoriety of this group. Plus, I don’t think it was available back then to post it on UTube and get so many people aware of the situation!

Thanks to David Warlick of 2 Cents I was made aware of this story and this video on UTube made by the singing group Sons of Maxwell where as David Warlick says

“after landing in Chicago for a connect to Nebraska, Dave Carroll and band, Sons of Maxwell, were alerted when another passenger exclaimed, “My god they’re throwing guitars out there.”

David was able to relate this to learning and education. He states that

First of all, we are experiencing and participating with a new information landscape where the message — the spin — is no longer issued exclusively by the few who can afford the spin-mongers and media outlets. We all have a voice today.

But just having a voice is not nearly enough. Secondly, a video on YouTube did not make this story. It was a young man, his band, and a very clever and well-performed song that made it. They communicated their message compellingly with charm, humor, and bite — and they got the attention and response of a giant.

This is why teaching writing is not nearly enough for our children to be fully empowered members of their society. It’s not that everyone will produce viral videos for YouTube. But, because of YouTube and the avalanche of information that characterizes our society, messages must compete for attention to earn audience, customers, collaborators, etc. — and this means that beyond learning to write well, students must learn to communicate with images, sound, video, and animation. They must have a command of the entire spectrum of content.

I’m sorry for quoting so much of David Warlick’s post, but he says it so well.

So all of this new media is not just “extra fluff” for the classroom teacher. Students and teachers need to learn about it, how to use it, and how to use it effectively to participate in everyday life.

What “extra fluff” are you teaching your students to be ready for what the world is like today?

[As always, in my author quotes, the underlines, color changes, and bold type is mine, not the author’s!]