REACTIONS TO VIDEOS FOR MOD#3
I recently watched this video, and there are a few things I would like to say about it. The beginning of the video discussed many of the concepts that we are learning today will be obsolete in the future, so as time goes on, so should the nature of what we teach (I found this especially true for information retrieval skills). In this way we are preparing students and giving them the tools to handle what they will encounter in the future. I really have to agree with this. As time goes on, technology and the needs of our society develop along with it. Many students graduate from high school today without the necessary skills needed to tackle the real world. Implementing this would be difficult and controversial, but we should identify what skills students will need for the future, and what skills will be obsolete, and adjust our curriculum as needed.
The second half of the video talked about how we can do this and how we can engage our students in the learning process at the same time. I noticed a lot of the presenters had the mindset that learning will become so technologically involved that teachers will take on less of a "teaching" role. This falls in line with the idea of teachers being facilitators of learning. While I do agree with this, I believe that teachers facilitating students who are learning from machines is not the "cure-all" or the "end all be all" of a perfect student learning methodology. There should be transition into these more student centered activities as students all need to be on the same page as the teacher. They need to understand what the expectations are. Student centered learning is chaotic if the students don't have a good idea of the task at hand.
The other video I watched was interesting and made a really solid claim. We should be bringing technology into our classes and adjusting it to benefit students' learning instead of keeping technology out. While this would motivate students and make lessons more interesting and interactive, I am not sure that would solve the problem of students dropping out from school. While many students that do drop out say that school is boring, there are usually other factors that go into that such as drugs, and family issues. Implementing technology in schools to change the way we learn class content doesn't negate those issues. Also, the video lacked to say that students need connections between what they are learning and real life to make the lessons more meaningful. What is more, schools are very much socioeconomically divided. Schools in poorer neighborhoods would be at a disadvantage in affording this educational technology and providing the training for implementing it. While I am all for implementing and using educational technology in a meaningful way to benefit our students, it isn't the "cure all" in improving our education system like the video seems to suggest. If we are talking about reducing the drop out rate, I would be much more interested in how we could use educational technology for drug and bullying prevention as I believe resolving this problem would directly tackle that issue. However, that is just my opinion.
I recently watched this video, and there are a few things I would like to say about it. The beginning of the video discussed many of the concepts that we are learning today will be obsolete in the future, so as time goes on, so should the nature of what we teach (I found this especially true for information retrieval skills). In this way we are preparing students and giving them the tools to handle what they will encounter in the future. I really have to agree with this. As time goes on, technology and the needs of our society develop along with it. Many students graduate from high school today without the necessary skills needed to tackle the real world. Implementing this would be difficult and controversial, but we should identify what skills students will need for the future, and what skills will be obsolete, and adjust our curriculum as needed.The second half of the video talked about how we can do this and how we can engage our students in the learning process at the same time. I noticed a lot of the presenters had the mindset that learning will become so technologically involved that teachers will take on less of a "teaching" role. This falls in line with the idea of teachers being facilitators of learning. While I do agree with this, I believe that teachers facilitating students who are learning from machines is not the "cure-all" or the "end all be all" of a perfect student learning methodology. There should be transition into these more student centered activities as students all need to be on the same page as the teacher. They need to understand what the expectations are. Student centered learning is chaotic if the students don't have a good idea of the task at hand.
The other video I watched was interesting and made a really solid claim. We should be bringing technology into our classes and adjusting it to benefit students' learning instead of keeping technology out. While this would motivate students and make lessons more interesting and interactive, I am not sure that would solve the problem of students dropping out from school. While many students that do drop out say that school is boring, there are usually other factors that go into that such as drugs, and family issues. Implementing technology in schools to change the way we learn class content doesn't negate those issues. Also, the video lacked to say that students need connections between what they are learning and real life to make the lessons more meaningful. What is more, schools are very much socioeconomically divided. Schools in poorer neighborhoods would be at a disadvantage in affording this educational technology and providing the training for implementing it. While I am all for implementing and using educational technology in a meaningful way to benefit our students, it isn't the "cure all" in improving our education system like the video seems to suggest. If we are talking about reducing the drop out rate, I would be much more interested in how we could use educational technology for drug and bullying prevention as I believe resolving this problem would directly tackle that issue. However, that is just my opinion.
You ask why students drop out of high school and I think the answer is in the response to the first video. Students drop out not because it's boring but because it has no immediate, real-life causality. Today's student knows that the majority of the things they learn in school won't help them in their careers, especially students who are already working and do not plan to go to college.
ReplyDeleteI agree technology is by no means a "cure-all" and there is certainly no "one-size-fits-all" solution. However technology can't be ignored either.
I think the video makes it seem like lack of ICT makes kids want to drop out. It seems very dramatic somehow. I agree with both Matthew and Meg: students drop out because they do not see a link between what they are doing and "real life" but they also face various socioeconomic factors that can impact their desire or ability to stay in school. Let's face it, staying in school is not always a choice for some kids. This video way oversimplifies that. Yes, I get that it is trying to make the point that we have to engage students with technology to keep it relevant to them but using dropping out seems disrespectful somehow in this context to me because I think there are bigger and more serious issues for why students drop out.
ReplyDeleteMatthew, the second video you watched is very interesting. Buffalo Public Schools has been conducting a lot of research as to why the high school dropout rate is so high and the data points towards the trend of students not being engaged and connected. Buffalo created several schools that have a focus on future careers. For example, their is a high school that focuses on culinary arts and another that focuses on science and technology. Maybe if we start engaging our students, we will see these rates go down. Although, standardized testing does make this difficult for todays teachers. Very interesting points!
ReplyDeleteHi Mathew, I agree with you the points you made. Using technology in classroom fails to address problems of dropout rate. Both Kaitlin and Meg provided reasons for why those dropout rate occurred. Indeed, if students cannot see the connections between what they are doing and real-life causality, they may lose interest in their learning. Also, there are other reasons for students' dropouts. if school climate and teachers cannot provide supportive environment, such as teachers' low expectation on students, those students may turn out drop out of school. Therefore, technology may not be cure-all means for problems of dropout rate.
ReplyDeleteThere has been a number of comments stating that students are unable to make connections between what they are doing and real-life and I am wondering how ICT can tie into helping create this connection. I could see it being beneficial for teachers to create lessons on how the material relates to different job choices. This way they can see how learning will lead to success while also using technology!
ReplyDeleteI agree that so many students leave high school without the correct skills to succeed in college or the work place. I think changing how we approach education and how we deliver our information will change how well students are prepared for after high school. I also agree with you that teachers cannot just be facilitators, they still need to be teachers. Students can learn so much from the internet and technology but they need to be pushed and taught in ways that connect with them personally.
ReplyDelete