Four videos , 3 articles and 2 web sites, if you
include Alan Novembers’, all about introducing technology into the classroom. They are all pretty adamant on their view
points, either without technology in school learning is boring and slow paced
or that with too much technology our youth are in danger of damaging their
brains and becoming sensory deprived. As
with most arguments a compromise must be reached. We cannot deny the benefits of using
technology in keeping students engaged, using it as an alternative method of
teaching, and the need to be able to know how to use technology to function in
our new world.
Prensky
and some of the videos take the stance that using technology is a must to reach
the new generation of students. That is
a generalization that I can say from experience will not always work. I teach eighth grade language arts/reading
intervention, I do make my students do research on subjects using the internet
and there are too many that do not know how to navigate it. They do not have the ready access to the
internet at home and if they do, it is used only to play games. When a short information power point or
Prezi is used they pay attention, but do not seem to retain or learn the
material any better than if it were printed out for them to read. I have not done the research so I will not
claim this to be absolute, but it is what I have observed. On the other hand I have students using a
reading program online that they are excelling at and improving their reading
comprehension by several grade levels.
That claim I do have data to support.
November seems to take that middle
ground approach that recognizes technology must be brought into the classroom
as a tool to teach with and also to teach the students how to use. November says that “the internet will be the
media of choice for the majority of our students” but that they must be taught
how to discriminate between fact and fiction.
Students still need to be taught the basics, reading, writing and
arithmetic. Using the best tool for teaching
the basics is important and then teaching the student the skill to figure out
what tool/technology would be best for them.
Using technology to teach the same
subject we have taught for years makes us rethink what we are teaching. Yes we have to teach the same core content,
but teaching it in a different way will make us learn it again. And I have always believed that to teach
something is the best way to learn it for yourself. Let the students teach us, about technology,
as we teach them, the core content.
That last sentence is interesting. As you continue the discussion this week, focus on possibly how that could look in a classroom.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I wrestle with how to get the most of students too, using what technology I have, and what I feel they are able to use in school because I can't chance their having technology needed at home, and that they will use it appropriately. We are growing into that direction, as I get the parents on board more. And, yes, we have to think of how to teach those core subjects using technology a tool that we may move forward with change. rdavenport
ReplyDeleteI like a phrase that I read in Reeves article about "blending teaching", it is a way to refer to adding technology in but not replacing everything that we have been doing. As we know all students learn differently and we must teach to them. I really liked Guilford's comment about a kid blog, where they respond and discuss a question a week. I am really excited about that idea and have convinced by co-teacher to try it. hopefully they will be able to use either home computers or their phones, silly question, can you blog on your phone? I am really new to this so not sure.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I will touch on the SAMR model of tech integration during the course. The problem becomes one of value. If we only use technology as a substitution, it's not worth the cost. If we only use it for truly transformative learning, the students will not be used to the technology in the first place. So saying "blending" in technology is often much harder than it looks.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, my experience with students mirrors your own--students who have trouble learning and retaining information in one format or through one presentation method tend to have the same or similar problems in others. Also, rethinking the technology does mean rethinking the content. Ancient world history is about as far away from modern technology as a subject can get, and the stereotype is an endless stream of lectures and disconnected facts, BUT using visuals like photos and graphs as well as sound elements like period music can bring new like to even the relics of the past. Here I refer to my class notes, which still exist in hard copy in notebooks...somewhere. :)
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