In relation to the text “The Challenge and Opportunity of Technology”, I agree with the idea that “if you start with computers without a good curriculum or a good pedagogy, the computer itself won’t help very much.” Sometimes too much importance is given to technological devices, and these are not used in their full potential. It’s possible to have a very modern interactive whiteboard and use it just like a common board (as I’ve already seen). In such cases, technology isn’t really adding anything to the class.
Moving to “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”, the idea of combining fun and learning is very interesting. However, the author deals with the subject in very general terms. Within the categories “digital natives” and “digital immigrants”, there are subgroups with different degrees of familiarity with technology. Besides, he claims that digital natives in general need to learn in a more rapid rhythm. Yet, each person has a different learning speed. Going faster may not be ideal for some students.
Talking about The Challenge and Opportunity, I liked how Mark Marschauer talks about the need of using technology. I mean, how he knows it is not important to all students, but he argues it can be evaluated in terms of opportunity. He gives the example of English for occupational purposes, like a waiter or a tour guide, they could have some computer activity develop for them, but computers are not essential.
ReplyDeleteHe also enphasizes that we can not consider as technology only computers or internet. A radio is also a technology. The important thing, is let the learners learn to create with it. He considers it, as a philosophy that is important for all teachers, which is: “help students master the technology for their own active mastery and empowerment
rather than thrust things on students.”
In the text, “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”, it’s interesting how the author call our (we who are Digital Immigrants), “fails or mistakes”. He calls it “accent”, it’s through the accent we realise when a person is not native to some place.
In my opinion what Prensky is suggesting to us is a little unreal. I mean, it is a very good idea teaching using games as a tool. But should we be able to include all the school programs in games? Sometimes I want to find out a song to play to my students, and it’s very hard have something they can learn while they are enjoying...
I think we can learn new ways to teach our subjects, and use it as a part of our teaching. But to teach having only games or technology, is too radical. Or maybe I am too traditional... lol lol lol
Taking into consideration Mark Warschauer’s interview about the use of new technology, it didn’t seem to me that he mentioned something really new. I guess that in most of the interview he talks about how technology can be seen as an opportunity for teachers and students and how teachers should use it to improve the student’s engagement and learning.
ReplyDeleteOf course that we have to take into account that this interview is from 2002 and many things have changed so far or have become more common (as he himself states, in the end of the text, that this would happen). So, I don’t really think I have to teach students (from schools, I mean) to use computers and technology because nowadays it would be much more likely for the opposite to happen: they teaching me to use it. As for adults, not always do they know how to use even low-tech devices, so teachers should insert them little by little and teach students to use them as well; otherwise it is possible that the results are the opposite: students get uninterested.
What called my attention the most was when Marks says that the learning is 90% the student and only 10% the pedagogical device. It is important to have this in mind so as not to thrust all the responsibility and the job on the technology. Also, we should not forget that content and technology can not be separate, meaning that the use of different devices have got to have a purpose and to be inserted in the context of the class.
So, the use of new technology serves not only to help the teacher but mainly to have students more engaged in learning.
Now, talking about the text “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”, I can say that I liked these concepts. However, I guess that one may be a native for a certain kind of technology and an immigrant for other kinds. So, it seems to me that this concept does not reach its purpose.
Another subject dealt with in the text was the speed with which digital natives learn. I totally agree with Carolina when she says that students have different learning speeds. We cannot ignore or discard students’ individuality. It is important to notice that students learn differently nowadays and that there should be other was of teaching these new generation children and teenagers, but we cannot forget that it is pretty difficult to find something that will work with every and each student. People are different, so what works for one may no work for another.
I agree with what Carolina said.
ReplyDeleteIt's no use having all the technology at your disposal if you don't know how to use it properly. The pedagogical preparation taken into account in the text is of extreme importance in order to keep the focus on the aim of the subject studied, otherwise, it would be useless to have computers avaliable without knowing how to make good use of them.