Any teacher who has been in a classroom where their students were falling asleep and daydreaming knows what it's like to have students that aren't engaged. Why would someone want to teach like that? Why would someone not want to make their students excited to come to school and light up when they create something themselves? Digital Media offers a new way to engage students.
I have grandchildren ages 3,5,6 and 13 and they all have the Ipad2, they do so much on them, it's crazy. I have to say their parents monitor their time on it and every Tuesday it is family night with games, so they are pretty rounded!!.
When it comes to texting, people somehow lose their common courtesy, manners and respect for people physically present – maybe these things can be taught? I don't know how exactly. It's hard not to feel insulted when someone starts to text in the middle of it of a conversation.
Today's students were born with the presence of the media in their lives.
Chances are, all students under age 10 were
1) entertained by cartoon network instead of a nanny or grandma
2) learned to grab a phone and hear a voice without a oresence before the age of 5
3) learned to use a keyboard before learned to write.
Today's students grew up having some type of technology as an extension of themselves.
And that extension changed the way they interact with their social world.
As social beings, we act differently in the presence of the unknown.
And as social beings, we all react differently to different situations, different stimuli.
Having interactive Smartboards in the classrooms changes the way students interact with each other, with the teacher and with content.
Having a cellphone, changes students' perception of time and space. What once seemed far away, with a smartphone is handy, reachable with a few strokes and the touching of send... and a second later someone will be touching that thought!
That nearness to anything, anyone, the closeness changes the way the brain captures and registers images and emotions.
The fact is, we're teaching modern students they same way we were taught... why? Why does the 1800's classroom look just like ours? Students this century aren't like we were... we can't teach as if they were, for several reasons.
Do you know the RSA animate videos? They're all fascinating, but watch this one which focuses on how our educational programs are based on outdated methods and about how the more we try to teach kids the same we were taught (and our parents and grandparents were taught)... the more we're probably wasting our time. When I saw this particular video at a conference I was at, it changed the way I thought about teaching (after almost 20 years). It will definitely open your eyes to how our kids are affected... I think you'll also enjoy how these videos are created -- so cool!
Yeap... True... Today's teaching is reall a copy of what was going on the the 1800's classroom.
The question is why?
Why are teachers reproducing a way of teaching and learning that no longer addresses today's students?
Reason # 1: Teacher Certification programs are sooooo outdated it is not even funny any more.
Reason #2: Many Professors teaching at Teacher Certification program are stuck in the past- still teaching with saliva, chalk and black/green board. Often these professors require students to use technology... but what they really mean is to use a computer to type everything neatly.... They have no understanding of how students think, behave and learn in today's classrooms. These professors haven't been in a real, regular classroom in a long time.
It is time the accreditation agencies start taking a look at schools of education, professors and instructors use and understanding of technology, and how technology is actually taught and used in teacher preparation programs.
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