The site (which aims to teach students to make videos with Google Earth):
http://www.googleearthireland.com/
Monday, February 8, 2010
Web 2.0
As I was searching for educational wikis this week I came across one whose creator was motivated by a desire to see the use of more advanced technology in schools (he was actually referring to K-12 schools in Ireland). One of the points that was made by the author was that today's students are so technologically savvy that, for them, coming into the classroom requires that they power-down. At home these students are chatting online, starting up websites, YouTube-ing, searching Google Earth, etc; at school they are exposed to little more than PowerPoints which, for them, is a fairly remedial technology. I can easily see how a teacher might feel overwhelmed by the amount of technology out there and, unlike children, they are unlikely to spend our free time playing around with these programs. This could cause a rift between students' educational lives and their use of technology. I wonder what the influence of this compartmentation might be when these students reach the job market or the university level. Will they view YouTube as having educational value? Or will their idea of education be so separated from their technological lives that they will have trouble viewing technology as a means to an end rather than a completely different topic? And are we already having this problem?
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This is a very interesting and realistic concern. As these technologies do continue to develop so rapidly, how are instructors to compete with the multi-media consumed generation? It is my sincere hope that our efforts to use technology effectively and research in that area will stay ahead of the pace of new technology development! It will be a challenge, but with today's students, there is no room for complacency in teaching methods.
ReplyDeleteI think we can all see how being technologically proficient is helpful in our fields, but at what point will this be a requirement. I still have one professor that does not use technology - he uses the chalkboard and standard overhead projectors. In 10 years, will students come to this course and fall asleep? Studies have shown that the internet and social networking sites are reducing our attention spans. Will students of the future require constant edutainment as its been referred to? Are these old school lecture styles inefficient in today's technological environment?
ReplyDeleteMore questions than answers in this post and accompanying comments! Something to think about is how you can help students transfer their passions for technology into the classroom environment...
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