This week’s videos and readings were a great reminder
of how our current education system needs to change. They all stress that education must be less
about content and more about thinking, problem solving and collaborative
project-based learning. Games produce a
“language on demand” instead of being forced on kids. Students want to produce and participate –
not just consume. People say gaming is
taking away writing but just the opposite is true – gaming is encouraging
students to read and write more, such as fan fiction. They are also learning English through
this. Global competition will force the
U.S. to innovate new tools within education. It’s great when teachers aren’t digitally savvy because that shows kids
teachers are learning along with them.
The first question is what does it mean to be
ethical? The issues are: sense of identity, privacy, sense of
ownership/authorship, trustworthiness/credibility and what does it meant to
participate in a community? They first
had to define these because once they enter into the digital world, they are members
of a community undetermined of size. Identity
can move into deception – trying on a different mask is okay but not when
others or yourself are going to get hurt.
Good education is going to be more difficult. Teachers will become more like coaches
because information is so prevalent it is not needed as much.
With new media literacy, it is positioning content to make
it more interesting for kids. Teachers
can immerse students in a game to find out why fish are dying. The theme so far with these videos is that
they are perfect in a non-standardized test field, which is NOT the state of
Texas! Students want to create these
things so they are more interested. The
environment in which a student is to write an essay is very boring – instead
put the kid in a modern version and set up a scenario that’s interesting and
kids are excited to learn to write because they see their goal and needs to
meet that goal. Their energy makes
teachers excited, as well. It’s not
about getting information but using information when using a game. Kids are online looking at how they can do
better. If we limit kids in school to
just be filled with things, we are not preparing them correctly. Teachers need to be given new digital tools. If not, we are setting them all up for
failure. They need to be engaged this
way. Teachers are in a hard space and
need to start advocating for themselves.
As long as teachers stay out of the game, we are going to see higher
drop-out rates in this country. As long
as kids don’t care, we are going to lose more kids in the education system. The boy in the video who said, “What if we
could learn the way we want to learn”? “What if we could learn the way we want
to learn”? (Vision
for Technology in K-12 Education, 2:47) struck
a chord with me because as educators we know what we do every day is for our
students. So why are we lecturing to
kids in a classroom with four walls each and every day? Utilizing technology in the classroom makes
learning more interesting for students and produces life-long learners.
The chapter in Using
Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works highlights how stressing
the importance of effort is as much as achievement. It also provides examples on how students can
evaluate their own effort in class through spreadsheet software.
I can relate to the chapter in Web 2.0: New tools, new schools because our campus this
year has been focusing on utilizing both formal and informal assessments with
their students. I have been working with
teachers on what technology they can incorporate with these assessments. Teachers see the value in utilizing technology
because the feedback is instantaneous and allows them to adjust their teaching
based on the results of the assessments.
References:
Edutopia.org (nd). Big Thinkers: Howard Gardner on Digital Youth.
Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-howard-gardner-video
Edutopia.org (nd). Big thinkers: James Paul Gee on grading with games.
Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-james-gee-video
Edutopia.org. (nd). Big Thinkers: Sasha Barab on New-Media Engagement.
Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-sasha-barab-video
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E.,
Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom
instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development, 155-164.
Solomon, G., & Schrum,
L. (2007). Web 2.0: New tools, new schools. Eugene, OR: International
Society for Technology in Education, 168-176.
Youtube.com (nd). Vision for
21st Century Learning. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mirxkzkxuf4
Youtube.com (nd). Vision for Technology in K-12 Education.
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhoOG5Kf1w4
No comments:
Post a Comment