It shows just how important the love of education is for children. I think he says it is very powerful that he says “when children are interested, education will happen.” I think this definitely applies to our generation as well. No one taught us how to operate all these new technology, but I tinker and looked things up and tried it until I was able to conquer whatever machine I was trying attempting. It is a different approach to show the education that can take place without a teacher or school structure.I would use the idea that students can truly learn from each other. A lot of the time we teach by lectures and then we don’t really appreciate their own capacity to learn and their eagerness to try and be better. So, I would put more effort in incorporating technology in education. I hear a lot of people arguing about why extensive use of technology in the classroom is bad. I haven’t understood why. It reminds me of the new kindle commercial about having the “feeling of actually turning down the page.” That’s kind of how I see this argument. If we want them to learn, we need to come to where they are and use what their manner of learning is.
I remember seeing a TV special about the Hole in the Wall experiment and the revolutionary effect technology was bringing to the developing world. The idea that students will teach themselves without an instructor about those things they are interested in using a computer is novel. The evidence that it works despite a series of obstacles is just as impressive. The impact technology can have on global learning is enormous and can be beneficial: expanding communities, providing much-needed information, and technological knowledge in communities where teachers are scarce. Furthermore students often help each other and their communities with what they have learned creating a “self-organized system” with almost unlimited “emergence” from the new technological tools they have access to. Learning becomes self-driven but also communal in that students help each other learn though the standardized curriculums that push students to learn at the same pace is absent. (The increased test scores for students who participated in the Hole in the Wall experiments suggest that standardized learning does less for students than when they are actively engaged in their own education.) Technology is essential for students to be well-rounded and able to function in an increasingly mechanized workforce. I would like to see more emphasis put on the practical aspects of technology in the education system but I would also like to maintain the creative and individual aspects of learning that are essential to each student’s progress. Perhaps by implementing SOL systems in schools (the problem will be content-controls to avoid predatory and age-inappropriate content online) so students can help each other learn, especially in rural or urban areas where technological access is not always available outside of a library setting. This group-learning on assigned open-ended technological puzzles and projects will be useful when students enter the workplace and are expected to have a wide range of creative computer-based skills that they can bring to corporate projects. I liked the “Granny Cloud” SOLs program and would love to implement a SOL system for high school and middle school students to chat with other students in other countries (like international, computer-based pen-pals). This would benefit students in that they could not only learn a second language and review their own English grammar in a fun, stress-free environment, but also be exposed to a different culture. In order to help second-language acquisition which is part of the curriculum in many public schools students would chat with their international friends in groups and their “pen-pal” would be from the country and speak the language they are studying. For example four American students in a Japanese 2 class at my school would have a pen pal in Tokyo. They could also exchange information about books they have read, music they like, and lessons they are learning.
Question: Given the amount of information students are exposed to online would you feel comfortable with a SOLs system? Would you install safeguards or have adult monitors present? Would you censor and if so, what would your censorship guidelines be?
I am a traditionalist, so in those regards I'll be honest when I say that I am one of those who doesn't think that education needs to have extensive technology. I think there needs to be that balance between technology and traditional pencil and paper learning. But I am all for trying new things :)
So here's my answer to number 3
3. What ideas does this piece give you in terms of how you want to teach or who you want to be as a teacher? a. I want to be able to pay attention to want interests my kids so I can use those methods to teach what is in the curriculum. For example, if they are more excited by learning through a computer program, then we will have days where we use the computer to teach math, or to teach science. I remember as a kid, I learned the most from the “bill nye the science guy” videos and “Magic School Bus” and hands on experiments than I ever did just reading a book and answering questions allowed. i remember more about history from videos, slide shows, and the museum visits than the books. So its all about finding what will interest the student and using that technology or method in order to educate. Get them excited and education will produce on its on.
Sugatra Mitra advocates the power of technology. Children are naturally interested and interest yields education. Mitra explains that education is a self organizing system. This means that it emerges largely without an outside system. Education is a self organizing system where learning is an emergent phenomenon. Therefore, with the right tools children will willingly experience the phenomenon of education. Mitra’s experiments are both incredibly intriguing and promising. However, his conclusions determine that education fundamentally depends on the availability of resources. I love that he has found a way to reach children who are typically ignored by the education system, but he has largely ignored the issue of funding. How do we support things like SOLEs? How do we argue for educational technology when it is more financially resourceful to simply send a teacher to India?
It shows just how important the love of education is for children. I think he says it is very powerful that he says “when children are interested, education will happen.” I think this definitely applies to our generation as well. No one taught us how to operate all these new technology, but I tinker and looked things up and tried it until I was able to conquer whatever machine I was trying attempting. It is a different approach to show the education that can take place without a teacher or school structure.I would use the idea that students can truly learn from each other. A lot of the time we teach by lectures and then we don’t really appreciate their own capacity to learn and their eagerness to try and be better. So, I would put more effort in incorporating technology in education. I hear a lot of people arguing about why extensive use of technology in the classroom is bad. I haven’t understood why. It reminds me of the new kindle commercial about having the “feeling of actually turning down the page.” That’s kind of how I see this argument. If we want them to learn, we need to come to where they are and use what their manner of learning is.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing a TV special about the Hole in the Wall experiment and the revolutionary effect technology was bringing to the developing world. The idea that students will teach themselves without an instructor about those things they are interested in using a computer is novel. The evidence that it works despite a series of obstacles is just as impressive. The impact technology can have on global learning is enormous and can be beneficial: expanding communities, providing much-needed information, and technological knowledge in communities where teachers are scarce. Furthermore students often help each other and their communities with what they have learned creating a “self-organized system” with almost unlimited “emergence” from the new technological tools they have access to. Learning becomes self-driven but also communal in that students help each other learn though the standardized curriculums that push students to learn at the same pace is absent. (The increased test scores for students who participated in the Hole in the Wall experiments suggest that standardized learning does less for students than when they are actively engaged in their own education.)
ReplyDeleteTechnology is essential for students to be well-rounded and able to function in an increasingly mechanized workforce. I would like to see more emphasis put on the practical aspects of technology in the education system but I would also like to maintain the creative and individual aspects of learning that are essential to each student’s progress. Perhaps by implementing SOL systems in schools (the problem will be content-controls to avoid predatory and age-inappropriate content online) so students can help each other learn, especially in rural or urban areas where technological access is not always available outside of a library setting. This group-learning on assigned open-ended technological puzzles and projects will be useful when students enter the workplace and are expected to have a wide range of creative computer-based skills that they can bring to corporate projects.
I liked the “Granny Cloud” SOLs program and would love to implement a SOL system for high school and middle school students to chat with other students in other countries (like international, computer-based pen-pals). This would benefit students in that they could not only learn a second language and review their own English grammar in a fun, stress-free environment, but also be exposed to a different culture. In order to help second-language acquisition which is part of the curriculum in many public schools students would chat with their international friends in groups and their “pen-pal” would be from the country and speak the language they are studying. For example four American students in a Japanese 2 class at my school would have a pen pal in Tokyo. They could also exchange information about books they have read, music they like, and lessons they are learning.
Question: Given the amount of information students are exposed to online would you feel comfortable with a SOLs system? Would you install safeguards or have adult monitors present? Would you censor and if so, what would your censorship guidelines be?
I am a traditionalist, so in those regards I'll be honest when I say that I am one of those who doesn't think that education needs to have extensive technology. I think there needs to be that balance between technology and traditional pencil and paper learning. But I am all for trying new things :)
ReplyDeleteSo here's my answer to number 3
3. What ideas does this piece give you in terms of how you want to teach or who you want to be as a teacher?
a. I want to be able to pay attention to want interests my kids so I can use those methods to teach what is in the curriculum. For example, if they are more excited by learning through a computer program, then we will have days where we use the computer to teach math, or to teach science. I remember as a kid, I learned the most from the “bill nye the science guy” videos and “Magic School Bus” and hands on experiments than I ever did just reading a book and answering questions allowed. i remember more about history from videos, slide shows, and the museum visits than the books. So its all about finding what will interest the student and using that technology or method in order to educate. Get them excited and education will produce on its on.
Sugatra Mitra advocates the power of technology. Children are naturally interested and interest yields education. Mitra explains that education is a self organizing system. This means that it emerges largely without an outside system. Education is a self organizing system where learning is an emergent phenomenon. Therefore, with the right tools children will willingly experience the phenomenon of education. Mitra’s experiments are both incredibly intriguing and promising. However, his conclusions determine that education fundamentally depends on the availability of resources. I love that he has found a way to reach children who are typically ignored by the education system, but he has largely ignored the issue of funding. How do we support things like SOLEs? How do we argue for educational technology when it is more financially resourceful to simply send a teacher to India?
ReplyDelete