The Classroom

As I tell people about this new 1 to 1 project I’m a part of I usually get one of two responses, either “That’s cool!” or “Don’t kids today already spend enough time on computers already? When are they learn the real way of doing things?” Its these occasions when I’m reminded of a video that Danny Mass recommended a few posts back:

Download Video: Posted by jsdt4 at TeacherTube.com.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying we need to do everything with technology – technology can break down, power goes out, devices can be lost – our brains are the only things that are always with us, and must be refined and developed to overcome any challenge put to us. But that’s not to say that we can’t use technology to help develop those neurons and inspire our students – to keep them engaged. At the 2007 Greater Edmonton Teachers Convention Bill Belsey stated that research has been done proving that the current level of technology that students are exposed to on a daily basis has changed they way they learn and process data. He refused to say whether or not this was a good thing – just that it was a fact, and that as teachers we would have to find a way to modify our teaching to better reach this new student mind set.I couldn’t agree more. We need to spend less time complaining about how much our children are using this technology, and start to use it ourselves to help reach and engage them. Sadly it’s not going way, it’s getting cheaper, more portable, and easier to use all the time. As teachers, we need to adapt or move out of the way. Expecting kids to “power down” and “unplug” when they get to school is crippling their learning potential. They have spent a large portion of time mastering these tools, and then we expect them just to forget that expertise and do it a different way. Yes, traditional skills are important – but they must be taught along side with the new technological skill set that children today are developing.

“…consider the growing gaming industry, now drawing more revenue than motion pictures. People, especially the young, are being drawn away from the passive consumption of information from TV and radio, by more interactive forms of entertainment. The player is telling the story thought his interactions with the game’s information environment. Teenagers are actually beginning to play their games with other teenagers over the Internet and recording the game play by using video editing software that came preinstalled on their computers. Then they edit the captured game play into stories that they share video files over the Internet. J. Allaard, Cooperate Vice President of Microsoft, calls this generation the ReMix generation, because they access, select and capture content, and then remix the content to suit their needs. It is a generation who wants control over the information and use it to accomplish their goals.” David Warlick, Classroom Blogging, 2005, pg 21

There are many different ways we can use technology in the classroom to reach our students and teach traditional skills. One of my personal favourite ways to do this is via blogging and podcasting. A whole world of educational possibilities is opened with these technologies.

“What is important to us, as educators, is the direct and conspicuous relationship between blogging and literacy. It is about writing and reading – communicating. If we can tap into the sudden notoriety of blogging as a cool thing to do, giving our students authentic assignments of finding, reading, and evaluating blog-based information within the context of curriculum, and then make them bloggers, communicators with a broadening audience, then we may do a more effective job of teaching literacy, both in the traditional sense, and within the context of an emerging new definition of literacy in a networked, digital information environment.” David Warlick, Classroom Blogging, 2005, pg 15 -16

The key to using technology in the classroom is to remember that the technology is just a tool – nothing more then a pencil or an overhead. For years students were taught orally. Then thanks to the invention of written language that all changed. Do you think scholars back then debated the merits of using tablets for teaching?
I know what I’m suggesting isn’t easy. As teachers we’ll have to redevelop our lesson and units to incorporate technology. We’ll also need to learn how to use this technology ourselves (I’m still trying to figure out wikis myself). It’s a huge shift in our educational pedagogues – but in an age where youtube is a viable forum for political debate, our students need to be as prepared as possible for the future…