Blog Post 7

Randy Pausch's last lecture is an emotional speech that covers a variety of topics and is full of useful advice for people in almost any profession. Dr. Pausch describes, in great detail, his childhood dreams and the various ways he achieved each one of them. Even in a failed dream, such as his NFL aspirations, he found a way to become inspired by simply playing football, and he carried that inspiration throughout his life. He consistently listened to advice from people he proclaimed as smarter than him and used that advice to become the successful person that he was. Another major theme of his lecture was to enjoy life to the fullest; even mere months away from his death, Dr. Randy Pausch showed a much more positive demeanor than most healthy people do. It was an extremely inspirational lecture.

Some of Dr. Pausch's best advice can be specifically applied to the teaching profession. Probably the most thought provoking advice he had for teachers was the idea of "head fakes". A head fake is when a teacher essentially "tricks" students into learning by hiding the learning inside a fun activity. Nearly every teacher at least attempts to do this but not to the degree that Dr. Pausch was discussing. Almost his entire curriculum was devoted to fun activities that also educate. Obviously the subject matter that he taught lent itself well to this methodology, but every subject could use some "head faking" to create interest from students.

Dr. Randy Pausch also had some great ideas for the use of technology in the classroom. His class was centered around technology and virtual reality; that is far more advanced than most people will ever teach, but there are several principles that can be taken from the lecture. He approached his class with a few broad goals and allowed them freedom in attacking them. This could be a useful application in a normal classroom. Giving students long-term goals and allowing them freedom with technology to accomplish these goals could be helpful in promoting interest in any subject. These type of activities along with a traditional curriculum could help a wide range of students.

I thought this was by far the most useful video we have watched so far in EDM 310. Dr. Randy Pausch covered a vast array of topics that are applicable to numerous situations in life. Instead of radical and specific ideas, like many of the videos have been, this was an inspiration to anyone who watched it. Many of the ideas can be applied to the education field as well as any other field.