Monday, March 22, 2010
March 18th
Always lots to write about...Great presentations Roman and Roland. As a general comment on the class as a whole, there seemed to be a theme. It seems like there are many changes to education using technology. It seems that technology is changing the way we are teaching and also how students are learning, or teachers learning for that matter. It sure makes for a lot of questions. My take on this is that (as I mentioned in class) I think this is just a point in time where we are learning the curve. I think that by the time the students who are in kindergarten right now get to the faculty of education and become teachers, they will "get" teaching with techology much better than we understand it. Like Ms. Black mentioned the onset of the internet really only started in 1992. So, we've only had less than 20 years with this idea of using it in the classroom. When you look at it like that, it's not very much time. Our society is just testing out limits and making adjustments to what will work in classrooms. Like the e-learning, Roman said it came on like a boom and has now bust. We shouldn't take this as a failure, but realize that adjsutments need to be made. It was our society's first attempt at it. In 10 more years or so, when we have worked all the kinks of using media/technology in the classroom, we will have paved the way for the students to become fluent teachers of it in years to come. I think we have to look at our time right now as a massive learning curve and relax about the things that don't work or the shocking statistics that are being produced. It's just the beginning.
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Good insights, Lana. I agree it is a big learning curve as we grapple with many questions. Changes are occurring across society, and schools have to deal with the ramifications of these changes. We will make mistakes, but, being an optimist, I think that with thought and working together, we can use technology in ways to improve learning and then, our society. Great post, thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi Lana,
ReplyDeleteLike Mike, I think your are right about the learning curve. Realistically, who was going to do all the work to get schools e-ready? The teachers? Given that technology has been changing almost at the speed of light (well, maybe not... but close), how are we to create a stable environment for students without leaving a few things out or not adopting the latest gadget? There is a good reason why the education system lags in implementation. Do the Kaiser report numbers suggest we should get onto the bandwagon and make sure we now have an app for everything in school? I don't think so. And truly, I don't think e-learning has failed, not even has it been thwarted; like you say, it's just the beginning. Look at all we have learned in the past 20 years. That must count for something. What may have failed was the realization of dreamy expectations. In closing, I'll tell this story. Back in the fall (2009), an earning expectations report was released for Research in Motion (RIM), the Blackberry maker. The financial spindoctors, guys like Michael Moe, were running projections for RIM revenues to be at the high end of an estimated range quoted in the report. Basically, they were expecting a blowout quarter (really good). During the two weeks after the expectation numbers were released and before the actual ones came out, RIM stock continued to climb, likely based on speculation (it gained $10 a share in about three weeks). When the actual numbers were released, RIM came in at the lower end of the expecations report's estimated range, but still in the range, a respectable result. However, RIM failed to meet "street" expectations, so, in the after hours trading session following the release of the actual report, the stock fell from about $90 to $78. Life in the 21st century - hype gets a lot of attention, too much.
Thanks, Lana. I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation as well. It's nice to hear someone else's perspective because it is easy to miss a point (or more) on the first examination of a piece. I compare the learning curve you mention to travelling up a down escalator as the gradient of the escalator perpetually increases. Will we ever get to the top? That, I imagine is the challenge.
ReplyDeleteI think when the present Kindergarten students become our future teachers, they will have a more balanced perception of the possibilities and limitations of technology. Just like previous generations with previous new technologies, we are currently in an age of modernism where the new technologies make so many promises:
ReplyDeleteTelevision in the 1950's was supposed to revolutionize education
Radio in the 1930's was supposed to change everything in education.
One school library I know of the 1990's considered replacing books with "laser discs", the media of the future!
We know today that radio and television are useful forms of media, but also know their limitations and downsides. I think teachers of the next generation will likewise better recognize the benefits and drawbacks of current technology, whether its blogging, SMART Boards, or iPhones.