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I went to a lecture the other day by an educator named Dr. Alan November. I was quite struck by his presentation. His basic premise was this: The HUGE amount of information that is at our fingertips now is literally turning education upside down. We give kids homework... ask them to answer questions and solve problems. How long does it take for them to get feedback on whether or not they are right or wrong? A long time...too long, anyway. Then, we bring them into class and we lecture content to them...content that is already available to them in a million different formats in a zillion different places (A great example is the content that is podcasted on iTunes U- lectures and classes about all sorts of subjects). We spend time recreating lectures, slideshows, notes, etc. that are already available. In class we give them stuff they could really do at home. We ask them to do stuff at home that would be much more effective if it was done in class... "What used to be classwork should be homework, and what has always been homework would be better as class work. Here is a video by Eric Mazur, Physics Professor at Harvard, that i really think is worth watching. Just put it on in the background while you are doing other work (its kind of long) and see if it doesn't make some sense. It is not DIRECTLY applicable to our classrooms, but it has some pretty strong parallels and its worth consideration.
3 Free Technologies to Help Students Learn to Read
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Once taught through traditional methods, the fundamental skill of reading
has become much easier to acquire via the use of technology. Technology
provides ...
8 months ago
As I read this, immediately I could see my students totally engaged, researching some topic using a lap top, lots of discussion going on. This looks great to me. My team has actually been discussing how we could do integrated project based learning. Then the questions arose. First, we need the technology. How many have ever tried to sign up for a computer lab?! It is great they are being used so much but supply is not meeting demand. The other thought I had was this. Yes, all the information we lecture on is out there however, how many of our students would seek out that information without teacher direction? If they did dive in on their own would they extrapolate the information we had hoped? This is where the teacher's role is vital and I believe the benefit of the occassional lecture still exists.
ReplyDeletePoint well taken, Michelle- We are actively trying to solve the technology problem. There is no question that we need to get more technology into the hands of students and teachers. But you hit the nail right on the head...integrated project based learning...a new way of looking at teaching as we get the technology in our hands. We cant try to slap technology onto a system of teaching and learning that isn't made for technology... The next step is to collaborate and share ideas and try to help each other come up with lessons and ideas. Thanks for your thoughts...
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