Digitalizing Education
During a lesson I am teaching in the classroom one of my students asks me " Why did Greenwich England get picked as the place where the Zero Degree Longitude line is?" Not knowing the exact answer to this question might of made me a bit nervous in the past but now all I need to do is sit down at the computer, or have a student and look it up. I can jump from site to site seeing what ideas and thought are out there on this exact question. Digital Technology.... it is everywhere... in our cars, cell phones, TV, and even classrooms. It has changed the way we get information and provides to us constant information of the world around us. No longer do we have to wait weeks even months to talk to a pen pal in china.. now we can just log on and send a live message or even Skype and see a live picture of them. Information is no longer an item you have to just go to a library to find out. Just having a computer at our finger tips a world of knowledge can be tapped into and information can be given. What does this all mean to how we educate our children of tomorrow... a lot and nothing. I say a lot in that there is a lot more information out there for our kids to see and learn from and it is our new duty to help guide them though this world of massive information. I also say nothing because really some of the basic practices that have been in place for years still apply. We still need to know how to read, write and do math. I think Digital technology just allows us to do these three things in new ways. Classrooms went from having chalk boards to white boards, to now smart boards. Pen and Paper to typewriters to now computers. Is all this technology better? I think that will be a question we may have to wait on to get the answer. Technology is helping us connect with others around the world and bring the world together in the information sharing. Learning can take place in a lot of different environments. What the effects this will all have is yet to be seen but a change has occurred!
6 Comments:
It seems to me that an enormous section of the new learning involves sorting information. The sheer volume of data requires people to sort it into (1) knowledge worth hanging on an internal framework, (2) knowledge worth remembering where to find it, and (3) data not relevant to you. Perhaps other categories exist as well, but these categories serve me pretty well in my life.
"Classrooms went from having chalk boards to white boards, to now smart boards. Pen and Paper to typewriters to now computers. Is all this technology better?" I love this question.
We tend to use new technologies to do old things. Are there new things: new ways of knowing and doing that are better or necessary that we should be using technology for? Jane
Hi Dawn-
technology definitely increases our ability to connect our classrooms with other people. last week I read a post on the PLoS (Public Library of Science) blog where the author of the post described a clinical trial involving someone from Vermont receiving stem cells in her eyes to recover her sight.This is a really big deal medically and scientifically. I dug a little deeper online and found out that the woman works in Manchester. I am planning to contact her about talking to my Anatomy class about her experiences with stem cells and stem cell research. We will read and comment on her blog and hopefully have a Skype session (unless she wants to visit us). The world really can be small sometimes!
Dawn - I really enjoyed how well you stated your case here and I think your question about whether or not "all this technology is better" is an important one. I plan to write another reflection in my log about my concerns about what happens to communication in this new technological world. While I see, and enjoy, all of the benefits of technology, I worry about the personal piece. I realize that there are now so many more people we can reach through technology but the way we "reach out" to people is different. As a result, I feel we lose some of the ability to develop our communication skills. This is an issue I am struggling with because I also realize we are now developing new kinds of skills for interacting and communicating with people. So are interpersonal social skills a thing of the past or are we just developing a new set of skills? Another question to think about is are we hiding behind computer and cell phone screens? If I have something not so pleasant to discuss with someone - I can be a lot braver in a text or email than I can in person. At the same time we do not get the benefit of tone of voice or body language to help us send or interpret a message. While I enjoy online courses for the opportunity to collaborate and reflect together on a regular basis, I'm glad to be a part of the hybrid courses where you get the online benefit along with the face to face opportunities to communicate with classmates. This is an issue I will continue to wrestle with, while I try to weigh the benefits and importance of each type of experience.
Technology can be really great, but it can make things much worse at times. When there is a use of this quick information sharing people can hear and believe things that may or may not be true. This can cause unnecessary stress and anxiety for some. I agree with your question "Is technology really better?" We must carefully weight the pros and cons of this question!
Technology can be really great, but it can make things much worse at times. When there is a use of this quick information sharing people can hear and believe things that may or may not be true. This can cause unnecessary stress and anxiety for some. I agree with your question "Is technology really better?" We must carefully weight the pros and cons of this question!
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