Your opinion is irrelevant
8 09 2007Sounds harsh, but if you are a teacher and your opinion goes something like this: “Technology has its place, but all of this MySpace and blog stuff is just a disruption to real learning” then your opinion is anachronistic, irrelevant, or worse, unethical. Your students’ world exists on the other side of a significant gulf of understanding and experience. You, dear teacher, are receding from their view.
Ever since the Expanding Learning Horizons conference in Lorne, VIC this month, I have been thinking about how best to challenge my colleagues about their own learning and about their digital lifestyle beyond the classroom. I am delighted to say that we are moving, and not slowly, towards a narrowing of that chasm. So watch this space as we move with confidence into a next-ed environment.
With a photo like that I am not sure we are not already dinosoars! I thought students considered anyone over 20 as ancient. That should not hold us has-beens back though, this new technology is fun!
Never too old…..
Well seeing that I was born in the 80’s and my first computer was an Amiga 500 I don’t think I am a Dinosaur yet (its alright Kerrie you aren’t either)… I agree though this stuff is fun (not as fun as my PS3 though). It will take a little while for any teacher to get their head around some of this stuff, probably a little longer for the more established one’s. This will be part of our future though.
I agree that we as teachers are “receding from [our students'] view” — but only IF we take that lax attitude toward technology. We are adults (hopefully we act like them in the classroom), and students naturally look to us for guidance. The teacher who doesn’t strive to model a love for learning and a natural inquisitiveness, and desire to adapt to new challenges and opportunities is the teacher who will become less relevant. And considering the ‘culture of apathy’ that so pervades the youth today, a good teacher needs to really be on his game in order to get and keep students interested.
To that end, teachers need to be ahead of students, or at least even with them, in terms of user technology
jdg