Post date: Jun 4, 2015 12:32:53 AM
What does the explosion of information, entertainment and access provided by the internet and the digital revolution mean for the education of our students and their literacy learning?
Technology would have its place but not to replace the real thing. It is quite difficult to look into technological models that can be improvements of real life. Yes, I am a skeptic of how well technology could actually facilitate learning. Technology would be instrumental in making complex interactive controlled environments to facilitate in the complex process of editing schema for cognition to occur. I highly doubt that, life cannot be replicated. Life can only be represented but not replaced. Learning can be aided but not forced by technology.
Programs or hardware would always be poor imitations of real life; they may even bastardize reality that children have a harder time of adjusting to reality. Simulations are great for training but nothing beats actual experience. I do not easily succumb to the pressure of using a certain form of tech or gadget or program unless I fully see the importance or use of it. Novelty is not a good motivator for me to try something. Like a child I have to learn to use it well first before I use it in class.
I observe skeptically. I see something new, I poke and prod until it stands up to my scrutiny then and only then will it be used in class. Then I would learn that I couldn’t achieve the same thing as when I did it the old fashioned way then I try again or discard it altogether, depending on how badly it turned out.
I do acknowledge the possibilities new technology represents, that is why I am so happy to be part of this fellowship. I do see the potential of using it in the proper context and in the right time to complement learning. I do not see it taking over learning itself, that teachers will no longer be needed, teachers will be needed more to help make sense of the insensible. There are new approaches to using technology, I want to learn that. I am a bit skeptical of everything being online, because it is not a construct that can stand alone. Depending on online storage and retrieval is fine when there is a decent internet connection but what of places where being online is a luxury? Technology should be a bit more accessible than that to be truly effective in educating the young.
Do you have the courage to embrace eLearning to configure new learning cultures in education to develop new ways of understanding educational improvements to prepare young people for exciting futures?
Being brave to provide our young children with a technology-mediated learning environment is actually an imperative for every teacher to master. It is no longer a question of whether we should implement instruction using technologies but it is more of how well can we fully and effectively integrate technology in classroom teaching. However, for them to be able to do it, they should be familiar with the technologies that are not only available, but also what they found relevant.
The youths of today perceive things the way we