I think it is time to really stir the pot! The reason I am doing this whole blog thing is because of a really interesting, and I would even say controversial, technology seminar. The seminar was given by Will Richardson. He is a presenter, speaker, teacher, writer, and fellow blogger (although I would say my blogs should not be compared to his). What an interesting seminar it was! I do wish we could have explored his ideas and teachings another day. During the seminar he talked about RSS, blogging, and podcasts. He didn't have time to get to Wikis, which I am still in the dark about. He had some very interesting points about education. His one example that stands out in my mind was about memorization. He said, "Why would a teacher have students memorize the capitol's of the states in this day and age? Wouldn't it be much better to teach them how to find the information quickly and easily using technology that they already use?" This really hit home since I have had this feeling for quite awhile. I am not saying that technology can solve all problems and that some worksheets and memorization are not needed, but I think as educators in this day and age we need to seriously rethink how we are teaching. Since almost anything can be found on the web fairly quickly, shouldn't it be taught in schools? I don't mean "Look this up on the web." I mean, "Let's learn how to do research on the web. Let's also learn what are valid information sources on the web." Do I mean just students when I make these statements? Certainly not! I would venture to say that most students could actually teach most teachers a thing or two concerning the web, including searches. The one thing that was discussed in the seminar that worried many of the educators were standardized tests (ISAT, ITBS). Obviously these are not set up for technology savvy students. Something will have to change in the state of Illinois, and nationally, for this type of technology driven curriculum to take hold. Another obvious negative is the price tag. Most schools (especially my school's size - under 300 students 7-12) don't have the monies available to implement this type of technology driven curriculum. Will Richardson has written a book that I have to get my hands on. The name of it is Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. What is your opinion on where technology is going in the classroom?
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12 comments:
Mr. Carey,
As suprising as this is, I agree with you. Students in the classroom should not just have to memorize everything. From experience, I can tell you that I forget half of the stuff I memorize for a test. If teachers taught us exactly how to use search engines efficiently, we would be just as better off as we are now, using our memorizing and forgetting strategy. I also think that teachers would keep students a little more interested in school if they did use things like podcasts and wikis to teach us. I think that all students are interested in using technology to learn. I think that using more advanced methods of learning would be an exellant idea for teachers.
-Catherine
Catherine,
It seems like you are really getting into this. That is awesome! Please spread the word and let people know about my blog. I want to get as many readers as possible. Thanks for the input on this one. As you can see, I had a lot to say about the subject. I think the changes that we are talking about will take some time, and some fighting on our part. The more people that read blogs and other info like this, the more chance we have of getting our schools turned around in the right direction. Do you have any ideas on ways we could use this in our classroom. I do, but I want to see what you can come up with too.
Mr. Carey,
As a parent of two kids that have been raised with technology readily available at home I must agree with you. Unfortunately the old ways of teaching cannot compete for a kids attention when they think in terms of instant gratification like video games or web surfing. Good luck in your pursuit of techno-teaching.
-Dennis
Dennis,
Thanks for the comment and I will try to keep the tech rolling! There is something new to learn everyday.
Mr. Carey,
I think it is a good idea to put more technology in the classroom but there does need to be standards set for the students as far as what they need to have mastered by the time they graduate from high school. I teach computers at a community college. I have a wide variety of "technology levels" among my students in class -- from those that have never done anything with a computer until they sit in my class, to those who have worked on computers since they were in preschool, like my own kids. Yes, some of my students who have just graduated from high school have rarely or never used a computer!!! These types of students are becoming fewer in numbers. The problem for the colleges comes with curriculum for the "entry level" computer classes. What do we teach them and what do we expect them to know when they get to us in college. I think that everyone should be able to do research on the Internet and be able to use "credible" sites for that research. What many people don't realize, until we go thru it in class, is that there are some things on the Internet that are not true or are someone elses opinion. I use Internet searches to show students this. You may find 2 or 3 different answers to the same question on the Internet. This doesn't happen in an Encyclopedia that isn't online.
--Joan M.
Mr. Carey,
I agree with you at some points, but I also agree with Joan M. (not just because I'll be in trouble if I don't show some sign that I've been paying attention). Some searches and websites on the internet will have the correct info to where people could find answers to questions that they would normally have to memorize in school. However, some sites may not be efficient because people can alter the information to where it's not true. I'd be alot happier if I didn't have to memorize everything from textbooks, but at least I know the info I need to memorize is correct.
-Kellie
Joan M.,
The entry level computer class would be a problem! That is a point I have not thought of. I agree with you on the fact that not all things on the internet are true but I do think seeing others opinions is not always a bad thing. I think it is good for students to see and realize that there are many people out there with other opinions. As far as finding two or three answers to the same question, that again could be a good thing. It sure makes the students think! If they are trained, by people like you and I, then they will have a good idea where the most valid answer would be found. On this subject, what is your opinion on Wikipedia?
Kellie,
Thanks for the comment. Do you really know the information in a text book is correct? How many textbooks have you used in your scholastic career that have been outdated? I teach junior high science and I know that if I don't get new books at least every two years then many of the things stated in the older books are no longer true. You know and I know that most schools cannot afford to get new books every two years so where do you think teachers go to get most of their new and valuable info? Yes, you are correct...the internet. Again, I think it goes back to how experienced you are in finding valid web sites.
Mr. C.,
I thought the stuff in our textbooks was right and that's Why we've been taught it. My mother's textbooks change all the time.
--Kellie
Kellie,
I did not say that all the information in our books was invalid. I just said some things have changed or have been proven wrong. Most of the info in our books is valid and still of use. The internet on the other hand is constantly being updated.
Mr. Carey,
I wasn't aware of Wikipedia until my daughter was using it to look up items for school work. We found that we could go in and edit the text of certain articles without being logged in and other articles we needed to be logged in. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It's kind of like open-source programming code for computer programmers. It's kind of scary because from a programmers standpoint, you could change the meaning of what the program was originally intended to do. On the otherhand, the person using the already created code benefits because they know it originally worked so why reinvent the wheel. In my area of computers the technology is constantly changing. I learn something new on a daily basis!! Some of our textbooks have to be updated yearly because so many new things happen in a calendar year. The Internet textbook seems to have outdated or updated links and things one semester after we adopt a new textbook. The extras needed for classes change as well. USBs weren't used much 5 years ago. We were excited to burn onto CD-RWs!! Now many courses are requiring USBs as extra materials that are needed. I don't know what my daughter or I would do without one.
-Joan M
Mr. Carey,
I am a college student who has been around computers since about the first grade I would say, so for students in high school to have no knowledge of computers in my opinion is irresponsible and unfair to the student. Kids need to start using technology at a young age because eventually that is how the world will go round, in my opinion. As far as entry level classes for college students, like the compass test already administered to students to see where they fall in literacy and math, couldn’t they administer a test to show computer literacy as well. Depending on where a student scores on the test, they would be put in an accurate learning level to progress. I am only a student so I do not know how hard it would be to change this, however I truly believe everything will run on computers and technology in the future, and the younger we can show children how to use the resources given, the better educated they will become; for they know if they do not know the answer, they will know how to find it.
- Andi Greenwell
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