Although I agree that certain teaching systems have not changed, I also believe that the quote Molebash used, is obviously outdated. I also had thought that teaching systems everywhere had been similar depending on the areas. However, upon researching in an early childhood classroom environment that had many technological resources, I saw that the teaching methods I saw to be bland and robotic did not exist in that environment. In addition, the teachers in the classroom were taking on the quote of understanding the culture of their students in order to create a sense of mutuality and connection. The change in education is indeed being done; although it won't be a sudden change. It is something that will happen gradually. Many educational environments are score-based; this may help some students but does not always produce healthy learning and cultural understanding for students.
The YouTube video, entitled "Social Media Revolution 2011" by Erik Qualman and based off of his Best-Selling Book "Socialnomics", was visually and audibly refreshing as it used beautiful music and graphics in order to express that social matters are caused due to the ever-expanding internet.
The use of the social networks, as well as technology in general, were shown to be responsible for many activities that people do; such as marriage, divorce, etc. Several ideas were generated considering the change in business actions and humanity's new reliance on technology for things that had to be physically done. Qualman displayed that the "Social Media Revolution" indeed has commenced and has spread like wildfire, including the statistic that 93% of businesses use social media in their deals. This video was very informing and I am actually following with this "revolution" by sharing it with others.
I really enjoyed this video because although I was aware that I was a part of this, I had forgotten that it was a revolution. I was in elementary school when this revolution first exploded onto the scene so it being called a revolution must have been used at the time. Since technology and the internet has become so engraved into my mind and the minds of my peers, it was bittersweet to be reminded of where we've come from physical means of doing business, being taught in school, even to leisurely activities such as reading. It is indeed a bittersweet feeling that I hope can be compromised, so that we do not forget where we came from before the technological advances of the past 15 years.
I agree that social media is an indispensable component of our society, and that we should direct our efforts to use this utility effectively as possible. The learning outcomes are potentially limitless, and students are very engaged in the subject matter.
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly interesting to think of how much--and yet how little--has changed in the field of education over the years. But no matter how much technology changes, I think learning is still about connecting new skills and ideas to what we already know (and want to know) about the people and the world around us, whether we look to encyclopedias or google to find answers. Maybe we could use social media to ask students how they want to see social media used in their education?
ReplyDeleteI was so glad to hear the environment in the early childhood classroom that you visited has changed. That said, I hope that all the changes are beneficial, since technology is only one medium for youngsters to learn and, at an early age, there are many other equally or more advantageous ways to it.
ReplyDeleteOne of the quotes that you posted is really crucial to becoming a successful educator. Understanding our students' culture is critical. Also, the quote about what age are we preparing students for is really thought provoking because we try to give students a set of skills to use, but perhaps these are outdated skills?
ReplyDeleteMy first year at University in Barcelona, my tutor addressed to all the Freshmen class, all future teachers to give us a speech. He started it quoting "Schools in Spain are full of students from 21st century, Teachers from 20th century and methodologies from 19th century". I could not agree more. Till that moment, I thought teaching was just trying to through concepts to your students so that they could memorize them. Since that day, my idea of teaching has been constantly changing till today. I think, as many of you, if our students will live in a completely different society to the one we were raised in, how using the same teaching methodologies will help them? I fully support the idea that a teacher must be aware of his students' culture, and environment and adapt his lessons (content and strategies) to his students real needs.
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