Marc Prensky uses the term Digital Natives to refer to today's students who are native speakers of technology, fluent in the digital language of computers, video games, and the Internet (Prensky, 2005). He refers to those not born in the technological age as Digital Immigrants and argues that these immigrants are tainted with an "accent," since they still have one foot planted in the past. It would have been interesting if Prensky had clarified what year you needed to be born after not to be lumped in his "immigrant" category.
Throughout the article Prensky seems to be in a terrible hurry to make learning one hundred percent fun for the students. He suggests students would learn algebra far more quickly and effectively if instruction were available in game format. Students would need to beat the game to pass the course (Prensky, 2005). While I agree that students need to be engaged, life is not a game. Perhaps some lessons could be taught in game format, but it is not realistic to think that every aspect of education can simply be learned in a game format.
Prensky suggests eliminating herding, which he refers to as teacher selected groups. His alternative to herding is to let students self select their groups with students from all over the world. This would be a good idea for some projects, but as an all the time alternative to grouping within the classroom I feel that it is unrealistic and would not be productive. While digital interaction is wonderful students must also learn to relate to all sorts of people face to face and not just through a computer screen. Human interaction in the flesh is powerful and we must foster in students the power of human minds and emotions. Part of assigning children to groups is teaching them how to work with one another.
Prensky makes several points worth noting in his article. He states that teachers must be able lead discussions in the classroom and incorporate what is happening in their students digital lives into their discussions. Interestingly, cellular phones have come a long way since this article was written in 2005. Today nearly everyone has a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). While these phones are modern marvels and should be incorporated in some ways into the classroom, it would be a crime to let the phones take over.
As a (younger) adult I am constantly surrounded by PDA's. All of my friends and colleagues are constantly enthralled with their phones. It is not uncommon to be out to dinner with three other people and to see all three people playing on their phones. What is the point of going out to dinner with each other when we could just social network with one another at home. I have started paying careful attention to this trend and I challenge you next time you go out to dinner to look at what is going on at the tables around you. How many tables do not have phones perched next to plates? How many couples are talking to each other and not engaged with their phones?
I am not from the stone age, or even the older generation. I had a cell phone in high school. However, I think that basic manners and values are being lost. It is my job as a teacher to incorporate technology without letting it take over. I think that if we teach children to rely too much on electronic devices much of what is wonderful about human nature will be lost.
My dad gave me some great advice when I started in business, and it is advice that I will carry over to my teaching career. He told me that while it is easy to simply sit in your office and email your employees, or colleagues next door, that you can tell more about what is truly going on by one face to face interaction then you can tell by ten emails. We must stay actively involved in our students lives and not let computers, phones and technology take over our jobs.
Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the natives. Learning in the Digital Age, 63(4), Retrieved from http://www.siprep.org/prodev/documents/Prensky.pdf
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sick of the Powerpointless
Powerpointless, as described by Jamie McKenzie, stretches from the academic to the business world. When PowerPointing becomes the goal in itself, any value that can be gained from technology is lost (McKenzie, 2000). My co-workers and I used to constantly use the term "Powerpointless." We would dread all day office meetings mostly because we knew it would be eight hours of listening to people drably read their slides. Ninety percent of PowerPoint presenters have no presentation skills and simply think that by reading slide after slide they are reaching their audience. Many professors fall into the same trap. They have the entire class dozing off as they struggle to "get through ALL 200 slides" they have prepared for their 60 minute session.
Whenever I enter a class, lecture, or business meeting that has a PowerPoint presentation I automatically think that the time spent will be a waste. If someone is going to stand and read me a slide show I would prefer they post it on the web, so that I do not have to waste my time in a classroom. I know that PowerPoint can be used effectively, but the sad reality is that rarely happens. The vast majority of PowerPoints are simply material cut and pasted from the web that the "creator" regurgitates for his or her extremely bored audience. I love when presenters state not to worry about taking notes because the slides will all be posted after their presentation. Do these presenters really think that anyone is going to go and review their boring slide show? If the presenter could not engage me for an hour in the classroom, or office it is highly unlikely that I will flip through all of their slides during my free time.
PowerPoint, if used correctly, can be a beneficial tool in the classroom. Jamie McKenzie makes several suggestions for how to teach students to correctly use PowerPoint. He suggests modeling examples of exemplary presentations, providing rubrics to clarify expectations and emphasizing ideas and logic. In order to create meaningful PowerPoint presentations students need consider their audience and plan their presentations accordingly. McKenzie also stresses eliminating distracting Flash and mindless Clip Art as both of these tools do not offer added value.
When students present PowerPoint in front of the class they must remember to bring other visuals and deliver their presentations dramatically. Effective speakers maintain eye contact, avoid reading slides aloud and speak with conviction. These are characteristics of an eloquent speaker with, or without PowerPoint. As a future teacher it is my job to stop the Powerpointless cycle. PowerPoint presentations could be a valuable asset to students, but first teachers need to teach and model presentation skills. The same presentation skills are necessary with, or without the aid of PowerPoint. If the mindless cycle of Powerpointlessness continues presentation skills will fall further and further by the wayside. What a shame because presentation skills are one function that cannot effectively be fully taken over by technology!
McKinzie, J. (2000, September). Scoring power points. From Now On - The
Educational Technology Journal, 10(1), Retrieved from
http://www.fno.org/sept00/powerpoints.html#anchor2
Whenever I enter a class, lecture, or business meeting that has a PowerPoint presentation I automatically think that the time spent will be a waste. If someone is going to stand and read me a slide show I would prefer they post it on the web, so that I do not have to waste my time in a classroom. I know that PowerPoint can be used effectively, but the sad reality is that rarely happens. The vast majority of PowerPoints are simply material cut and pasted from the web that the "creator" regurgitates for his or her extremely bored audience. I love when presenters state not to worry about taking notes because the slides will all be posted after their presentation. Do these presenters really think that anyone is going to go and review their boring slide show? If the presenter could not engage me for an hour in the classroom, or office it is highly unlikely that I will flip through all of their slides during my free time.
PowerPoint, if used correctly, can be a beneficial tool in the classroom. Jamie McKenzie makes several suggestions for how to teach students to correctly use PowerPoint. He suggests modeling examples of exemplary presentations, providing rubrics to clarify expectations and emphasizing ideas and logic. In order to create meaningful PowerPoint presentations students need consider their audience and plan their presentations accordingly. McKenzie also stresses eliminating distracting Flash and mindless Clip Art as both of these tools do not offer added value.
When students present PowerPoint in front of the class they must remember to bring other visuals and deliver their presentations dramatically. Effective speakers maintain eye contact, avoid reading slides aloud and speak with conviction. These are characteristics of an eloquent speaker with, or without PowerPoint. As a future teacher it is my job to stop the Powerpointless cycle. PowerPoint presentations could be a valuable asset to students, but first teachers need to teach and model presentation skills. The same presentation skills are necessary with, or without the aid of PowerPoint. If the mindless cycle of Powerpointlessness continues presentation skills will fall further and further by the wayside. What a shame because presentation skills are one function that cannot effectively be fully taken over by technology!
McKinzie, J. (2000, September). Scoring power points. From Now On - The
Educational Technology Journal, 10(1), Retrieved from
http://www.fno.org/sept00/powerpoints.html#anchor2
Monday, March 21, 2011
How can technology help develop higher order thinking and problem solving skills?
Technology, when used correctly, is transparent in education today. There are a multitude of ways in which technology helps to develop higher order thinking and problem solving skills in students. When implemented correctly in the school system these skill sets should be fundamentally inherent in all students. It is the responsibility of the teahcers to make sure that the students are introduced at a young age to technology and that it is interwoven in their classroom instuction beginning in pre-school. Teachers must guide students in developing problem solving skills and then let the students use technology to find solutions. Technology does not replace the teacher, but it should be a part of the cirriculum preparing students for the future. Throughout time teachers have helped students develop higher order thinking and problem solving skills. Today the landscape for learning these skills has changed for the better through the help of technology.
In the business world, where I have spent the majority of the past seven years, technology is simply the way that business functions. Many older workers had to learn technology later in life and many still struggle to stay up to date since technology was never a part of their core education. The business world will continue to evolve and change with technology and since today's students are integrated in the technological world from the time they are born they will be much more advanced than many in careers today. Additionally, new job titles are being added daily with every change and discovery in the technological field. Many of today's first graders will eventually have jobs that are currently not in existence. By developing higher order thinking and problem solving skills through technology children are better equipped for the future.
In order for teachers to aid children with the skills necessary to function in the world today they need to understand the skills themselves. People like Lorrie Jackson, the Coordinator of Instructional Technology at Lausanne Collegiate School, have dedicated their careers to exploring ways that technology fits in the classroom and then educating other educators. Resources, such as the Education World Techtorials, are available for teahers to discover how to integrate technology in the classroom. A star teacher will utilize resources such as this to equip themselves with fresh ideas for their classroom.
Another resource available to aid educators is the Teacher Tap website. Bloom's Taxonomy involving Critical and Creative Thinking is examined on this site. This Taxonomy, although developed in 1956, is still relevant today. Within the cognitive domain, Bloom identified six levels: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The internet, and other technological resources help students to gain knowlege, comprehend all sorts of material, apply critical thinking and problem solving skills to the knowlege they gain, analyze the data they find and evaluate their overall research and findings. Thirty years ago student resources were confined to books, encyclopedias and periodicals that were always out of date. Current technology allows students to have multiple resouces that are constantly updated.
Technology is an integral part of learning and can be applied to every subject in order to develop higher order thinking and problem solving skills. The videos that we watched before class last week demonstrated many ways in which students are developing these skills in the classroom. As teachers continue to learn so will students and it is important that teachers contiune to develop creative and new ways to use technology and the many resources available to them. With the availability of web resources it is more important than ever that students are able to think and solve problems on their own. Information is available at our fingertips and it is those that are adept at using this information that will ultimately be successful.
In the business world, where I have spent the majority of the past seven years, technology is simply the way that business functions. Many older workers had to learn technology later in life and many still struggle to stay up to date since technology was never a part of their core education. The business world will continue to evolve and change with technology and since today's students are integrated in the technological world from the time they are born they will be much more advanced than many in careers today. Additionally, new job titles are being added daily with every change and discovery in the technological field. Many of today's first graders will eventually have jobs that are currently not in existence. By developing higher order thinking and problem solving skills through technology children are better equipped for the future.
In order for teachers to aid children with the skills necessary to function in the world today they need to understand the skills themselves. People like Lorrie Jackson, the Coordinator of Instructional Technology at Lausanne Collegiate School, have dedicated their careers to exploring ways that technology fits in the classroom and then educating other educators. Resources, such as the Education World Techtorials, are available for teahers to discover how to integrate technology in the classroom. A star teacher will utilize resources such as this to equip themselves with fresh ideas for their classroom.
Another resource available to aid educators is the Teacher Tap website. Bloom's Taxonomy involving Critical and Creative Thinking is examined on this site. This Taxonomy, although developed in 1956, is still relevant today. Within the cognitive domain, Bloom identified six levels: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The internet, and other technological resources help students to gain knowlege, comprehend all sorts of material, apply critical thinking and problem solving skills to the knowlege they gain, analyze the data they find and evaluate their overall research and findings. Thirty years ago student resources were confined to books, encyclopedias and periodicals that were always out of date. Current technology allows students to have multiple resouces that are constantly updated.
Technology is an integral part of learning and can be applied to every subject in order to develop higher order thinking and problem solving skills. The videos that we watched before class last week demonstrated many ways in which students are developing these skills in the classroom. As teachers continue to learn so will students and it is important that teachers contiune to develop creative and new ways to use technology and the many resources available to them. With the availability of web resources it is more important than ever that students are able to think and solve problems on their own. Information is available at our fingertips and it is those that are adept at using this information that will ultimately be successful.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Technology and Me
My name is Caroline Forster and I am originally from the great state of Iowa. I was born and raised in Bettendorf, which is part of the Quad Cities located on the Mississippi River. Upon graduation from high school I attended the University of Iowa where I made many life long friends who share my passion for anything Hawkeye related. The year after college I served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, and worked in an inner-city grade school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While I loved my job I was not the biggest fan of Milwaukee, so after my tenure was up I packed my bags and moved to Chicago with many of my college friends. Once in Chicago I gained employment in event planning and media sales, and went to Loyola University Chicago where I graduated with my MBA. Currently I am engaged to a wonderful guy who I met during my business career and thankfully he shares my passion for both domestic and international travel. We will be married on June 18th and will continue to make Chicago our home.
Both of my grandmothers, one of my grandfathers, my mother and all of her sisters are teachers, so I grew up in a family highly focused on education. In high school I coached junior high volleyball and was always actively involved with children of all ages, but I suppressed my teacher urges in college and followed the money making business path. I loved my year of teaching with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, but felt compelled to use my business degree and pursue a line of work suitable to my studies. My best friend and former roommate is an inner-city high school teacher in Chicago and I have spent countless hours over the past six years listening to the joys, trials and tribulations of her teaching career. I have also spent a lot of time mentoring her students for different projects, assisting with her swim team and being a field trip chaperone. Although she has faced a lot of challenges in her career, the joy and passion that she feels towards her students was what I was lacking in the business world. I have had a lot of success, but I know that I was not in the right place, or serving where I am needed, which is in the classroom. My favorite part of my sales career was mentoring and training the new employees, which I feel is a huge sign that teaching is truly my calling and I am finally where I belong.
I have taken numerous technology courses both in my undergraduate and graduate studies, and technology has always been a vital part of my career. I am constantly browsing the Internet, sharing photos, or music, social networking, exchanging email, and finding daily deals. My most recent career was in Media Sales, so I am certified to sell both Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization products. Other aspects of my job involved virtual presentations, designing banner and top placement advertisements, creating content for website designers and working with graphic designers designing print advertisements. I made e-presentations daily and coached new sales representatives on how to tie technology into their presentations and jobs. I feel that I am technologically proficient, but as technology is constantly changing there is always more to learn.
I am very excited to take this course and learn more about tying technology and teaching together. I want to learn how to make engaging presentations for elementary school children and how to actively involve technology in the classroom, so that the students have hands on experience. Our world is now global and technology creates so many experiences that children were not able to have before. I am hoping you can show us how to fully take advantage of all of the resources available to make our classrooms advanced and in step with the twenty-first century.
Both of my grandmothers, one of my grandfathers, my mother and all of her sisters are teachers, so I grew up in a family highly focused on education. In high school I coached junior high volleyball and was always actively involved with children of all ages, but I suppressed my teacher urges in college and followed the money making business path. I loved my year of teaching with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, but felt compelled to use my business degree and pursue a line of work suitable to my studies. My best friend and former roommate is an inner-city high school teacher in Chicago and I have spent countless hours over the past six years listening to the joys, trials and tribulations of her teaching career. I have also spent a lot of time mentoring her students for different projects, assisting with her swim team and being a field trip chaperone. Although she has faced a lot of challenges in her career, the joy and passion that she feels towards her students was what I was lacking in the business world. I have had a lot of success, but I know that I was not in the right place, or serving where I am needed, which is in the classroom. My favorite part of my sales career was mentoring and training the new employees, which I feel is a huge sign that teaching is truly my calling and I am finally where I belong.
I have taken numerous technology courses both in my undergraduate and graduate studies, and technology has always been a vital part of my career. I am constantly browsing the Internet, sharing photos, or music, social networking, exchanging email, and finding daily deals. My most recent career was in Media Sales, so I am certified to sell both Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization products. Other aspects of my job involved virtual presentations, designing banner and top placement advertisements, creating content for website designers and working with graphic designers designing print advertisements. I made e-presentations daily and coached new sales representatives on how to tie technology into their presentations and jobs. I feel that I am technologically proficient, but as technology is constantly changing there is always more to learn.
I am very excited to take this course and learn more about tying technology and teaching together. I want to learn how to make engaging presentations for elementary school children and how to actively involve technology in the classroom, so that the students have hands on experience. Our world is now global and technology creates so many experiences that children were not able to have before. I am hoping you can show us how to fully take advantage of all of the resources available to make our classrooms advanced and in step with the twenty-first century.
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