Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This blog is intended for use in the ITEC 814 class only. The original blog postings were part of the class activities. The series of questions posted as of December 2009 are opportunities for me to post my current thoughts on areas of concern and hopefully to get some kind of dialogue for reflection with colleagues.
I have heard many teachers and parents argue about the damaging effect that computers and social networking tools are having on our youth. Many of us see youngsters as having trouble relating to others face-to-face and spending all their time in virtual worlds in cyberspace. Also, in the classroom, many teachers feel the effects in the form of disruptions when cell phones ring or when students text in class, as well as when our more traditional lesson don't keep the students attention and fail to compete with the online paradigm.
ReplyDeleteMy take on this is that we need to be aware of the students' reality so that we can better engage them in their learning. As I've heard said in various teacher workshops, if student's are learning how we teach, we must teach the way they learn. So let's use computers if it will help them learn in our class.
But more than catering to student learning habits, I think it is critical that we empower students to be able to thrive in the environment they will be living their lives. The reality is that our students will be living in a world much more driven by technology than any of us ever have experienced. We literally harm our students' potential if we don't help them become better able to negotiate their future. As teachers, we need to be more responsible and less selfish. Our world will never be their world, so lets help them be the best they can be in their world.