How does this reading impact your thinking about technology's role in teaching and learning?
What will you do differently as a future teacher as a direct result of this new thinking?
This chapter was from the standpoint of technology enthusiasts, technologists. Technology has heavily made impacts in business and the entertainment industry. It needs to deeply make its way into schools too. The enthusiasts feel technology will revolutionize schools by preparing students for the real world and enhancing the ways educators teach. Putting computers into the classroom in the 90’s was a good start but obviously has not been enough. The gap between school computer use and workplace use is growing wider. Also, the gap between school content and knowledge needed for the workplace is widening.
Just as the industrial revolution increased the amount of work done by the human body the technology knowledge revolution is increasing the amount of work the human mind can do. It is largely based on more opportunities to communicate. Technology is offering “just in time” (JIT) ways to learn by introducing quick help programs, online tutorial, and quick comparison tools. Most people forget most of the things they learn. JIT helps them to quickly freshen up on their knowledge by giving quick answers to help them remember what they once learned.
Textbooks are starting to be designed in a way to mimic web pages by the appearance layout and linking to online material and resources. This is a good thing because when students have to use textbooks they will be able to relate it to the way they learn on the internet. Giving students options to what and how they learn is a way that technology is providing personalized learning choices.
Students are becoming interested in learning what they want to learn rather than learning in the linear fashion that traditional education has been structured. The internet has developed a way to capture the interest of specific demographics. These “push technologies” are compiling past searches and topics of interest by a particular user to give future suggestions on what the user may be interested in. These tools can narrow the user’s interests and can provide better venues to learn the material by presenting the information in terms at an appropriate level for the user’s ability. Student’s desire for personalized learning choices is growing. The No Child Left Behind act is attempting control exactly what everyone should know. In reality, technology is creating a generation of students who are more concerned with widening what their choice of what they want to learn. Can these two different methods work together? Or are they working against each other?
Simulations are another way which students are using technology to explore their thoughts and guide what they want to learn. Simulations can vary from science lab simulations to video games. They give immediate feedback, offer different situations controlled by choices, and normally increase in difficulty. Using simulations will scaffold learning by giving opportunities for trial and error without real world consequences and posing “What if” situations. When it comes to video games children want to pay attention to find the best outcomes to their choices so that way they will be able to perform better in the later levels of the game.
I found one part that I disagree with the technologists. They feel that educators present too much material before allowing students to apply it. They used the example of a tennis coach teaching all the rules and strategies before letting students try to play. In some subjects, I think it is important to teach the correct way before students have the chance to acquire incorrect techniques and habits.
In my secondary science classroom I will be able to utilize many of the methods presented in this chapter. In a vast ocean of sources of information students will need to know how to wade through the junk. I need to teach them the best ways to develop their skills to efficiently find the most useful information. Knowing how to ask good questions will help them to find the right information whether in or outside of the classroom. For example, while using Google search. Also, face to face learning and communication is decreasing. I need to guide students in how to communicate with non-face to face ways like e-mail and video conferences.
With many quick self help programs developing, student will be turning to them for their questions. At the same time, I want to model my technological knowledge to my students so they will still be comfortable to ask me for help.
Students want more ways to connect their technological abilities to the real world. Connecting what i teach them in the classroom to what is happening in the real world is important to motivate students to be interested in what I have to teach them. I could teach the foundations of GIS and its applications with concern to our local community. Rather than completing “meaningless” assignments in class, they could do a project directly working with the local community on a project.
Students are being born into this technological revolution. They will, with no doubt, be more knowledgeable in some areas than I will. Embracing this technology and using it to improve my pedagogical methods to interest students will be much easier than fighting this knowledge revolution.
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