I like how the Tapscott talks about how the technology is
changing more that just the environment the students are in and how the use it.
“They seem to behave, and even to be different” I see this a lot in the
students that I teach. I have noticed that whenever I have my students take
notes (on their computer) they tend to zone out when they finish copying the
current PowerPoint slide being projected. They keep switching from their notes
to a video game, to a video or to a website. When I call them on this, they are
confused about why I am not happy them. In their mind they already took the
notes and are just keeping them self busy until the next slide in the
PowerPoint is displayed.(Tapscott)
According to the article “Does PowerPoint help or hinder
learning?” from the Faculty Focus website, PowerPoint has many good and bad
uses. It can improve teachers in their teaching. But since people’s attention
span these days is about 8 percent teachers need to be sure that their lessons
are strong enough to keep their students attention. “Like so many instructional
practices, PowerPoint is not inherently good or bad. It’s all about how we use
it.”(Weimer)
There is a good article by the NY Times that continues the
point about technology changing the way student behave, “Technology Changing How Students Learn,
Teachers Say” In the article studies where conducted that found many teachers
believed, the attention span among student is affected by their use of digital
technology. Some teachers were even seeing technology as a distraction from the
learning environment. I believe in the same counterpoint that Kristen Purcell brings
up in the article “the education system must adjust to better accommodate the
way students learn, a point that some teachers brought up in focus groups
themselves.” (Richtel)
Overall I see that
as the technology world grows and the net-generation starts having kids the
environment they live in needs to change to accommodate to their new digital
mind.
Sources:
Richtel,
M. (2012, November 1). Technology Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say. NY
Times.
Tapscott,
D. (2008). Grown Up Digital : How the Net Generation Is Changing Your World.
New York: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing.
Weimer,
M. (2012, August 1). Does PowerPoint Help or Hinder Learning?. Retrieved May
18, 2014, from
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/does-powerpoint-help-or-hinder-learning/
Technology is changing how students learn and like it or not educators need to prepare themselves. In this article:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-education/
It raises the issue with schools being behind where the students level is with technology. Having access to technology in schools is important, but it is also important that educators know how to encourage the students to use the technology in the classroom. Ideas like BOYD need to be embraced, but many educators feel trained to use this technology. Many times students know more than educators when it comes to technology use.
I had to laugh when you said that once kids finish copying a PowerPoint slide, they tune out. I can relate! I use a Smart board in my classroom which uses software that displays info much like PowerPoint. I find that in order to keep their attention, I have to switch things up regularly. After a little writing, the kids work on a couple problems, we talk about our results, sometimes the kids have to come up and share their work on my board, we do some more writing followed by a few more problems, etc. I try to make them human ping pong balls. If I get too long winded, I throw in a few jokes or we take part in audience participation activities such as mathematical Simon Says. When I watch kids interact outside of my classroom, they are doing things the same way. They bounce from one topic to the next without missing a beat. Their need to be in perpetual motion used to bother me far more than it does now. I realize that today's digital generation grew up with constant stimulus and have grown to expect it. When I ask for a volunteer to look up information online, I get a room full of hands going up asking me to pick them. If I try to stand there and dictate the information myself, I get a room full of unengaged kids. I'm still learning how to adapt to the way kids learn. I've been around education longer than most technology that exists today. My old instincts tell me that kids are suppose to sit quietly in a room and be enlightened by my vast knowledge. Reality tells me that this isn't going to happen. Education (and educators) need to realize that change is happening whether we like it or not. The question is whether we will rise to meet the challenge. The fact that we are in this course tells me that we're willing to learn. Our job will be to encourage others in our profession to follow suit.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your insights. I'm looking forward to sharing more ideas as we journey through this class.