Thoughts on the future of learning and teaching: There is no question that our students, our children, need to be at warp speed in learning to use technology in academic, business, career, and social arenas. The ability to access information and content quickly is increasingly becoming a survival skill. It might be interesting however, to observe over the next 15 years how focusing teaching on creating students who are information bloodhounds, with a just-in-time mentality (that is, searching for and finding information as needed, for a specific time and purpose) affects the character development of students. There was a time when the idea of a “Renaissance Man” (gender neutral of course) was an ideal. A person who had, in their head and heart, poems from Emily Dickinson or e.e. cummings, quotes from Shakespeare and C. S. Lewis, bits of writing from Aristotle or Locke or P. G. Wodehouse. A person who has in their mind and soul visions of great art, knowledge of Rubens or Klimt, things that are a part of who they are, that they can “search and retrieve” from their own mind, for comfort, for laughter, for entertainment, for learning, to be able to keep themselves company when they are alone, to be alone but never lonely because of the rich library of their own mind and soul. How does a change in focus from “having content” to “being able to find content when needed” affect what a person becomes as an adult. In some ways, are we creating people who only have temporary storage instead of a rich personal foundation of knowledge and learning? RAM individuals who don’t keep knowledge on a permanent basis but only in a temporary cache for the immediate need? When I feel my anxiety levels grow after watching the news, when I notice my jaw has been tight all day because my to-do list has been growing instead of shrinking, I can stop anywhere, anytime, with no need for internet access, and in my head recite the Wendell Berry poem, “The Peace of Wild Things” that I took the time to memorize years before because it brings such comfort and perspective to me in my moments of personal crisis. I could rush to Google and search “comforting poems” perhaps, but somehow having it in my head, with me always, my own secret, personal pearl of great price that I can access at anytime gives me a deep sense of personal peace. We only have so much time, so much of a kid’s brain that we can claim territorially. We are driven to try to make the best use of that time and territory. The impulse to align that drive to one purpose, whether it be technological literacy or not, is strong. But the question is, what are we creating?
Every student will need to have access to a computer and internet access. In some cases, the education system will need to provide students with home access in order for technology to be equitable for all.
Our students will need to learn to work together and understand that all voices are to be shared and heard. To move forward we must empower our students to think out of the box, be creative, and not to be scared to share their thoughts.
ALL students will need access TODAY to technology, so they can become 21st century literate. Currently many of our "at risk" youth are without equal access to technology, and our district often makes gaining access to the tools necessary to provide students with this access difficult. Computers are limited in number and those that are available are often old, slow or don't work.
I believe that our students will need the support and understanding to function on a global scale. Students will also need educators to keep up the growing technology. Students also need the understanding that they learn and interact in a different way.
In addition to skills in technology, our students will need skills for sifting through the enormous amount of information available. They will (and do now) need to be able to critically evaluate the sources of information for their biases and authenticity. It will be (and is) critical that they seek out the sources used by all information generators. In fact, I noticed that the video clip we watched in class on 21st century literacies did not list at the end the sources used for all of the statistical information provided in the clip.
Our students will need to be technologically savvy. They will need to be connected to a world that is changing faster than any of us can really comprehend. They will need a continuously updated technology to keep them linked to our world. Students will need training, so they will use this technology with honor and with heart.
To be prepared for the future, our students will need to learn to communicate effectively, think, problem solve, be adaptable, and work with others. I'm finding that today's students want to learn or do things quickly and not enter into activities that require thought, analysis, and synthesis.
11 comments:
Our students will need the ability to think and make their own decisions.
Students will need critical thinking skills, nimble minds, flexible thinking, ability to multi-task, and openness to change.
Thoughts on the future of learning and teaching:
There is no question that our students, our children, need to be at warp speed in learning to use technology in academic, business, career, and social arenas. The ability to access information and content quickly is increasingly becoming a survival skill. It might be interesting however, to observe over the next 15 years how focusing teaching on creating students who are information bloodhounds, with a just-in-time mentality (that is, searching for and finding information as needed, for a specific time and purpose) affects the character development of students. There was a time when the idea of a “Renaissance Man” (gender neutral of course) was an ideal. A person who had, in their head and heart, poems from Emily Dickinson or e.e. cummings, quotes from Shakespeare and C. S. Lewis, bits of writing from Aristotle or Locke or P. G. Wodehouse. A person who has in their mind and soul visions of great art, knowledge of Rubens or Klimt, things that are a part of who they are, that they can “search and retrieve” from their own mind, for comfort, for laughter, for entertainment, for learning, to be able to keep themselves company when they are alone, to be alone but never lonely because of the rich library of their own mind and soul. How does a change in focus from “having content” to “being able to find content when needed” affect what a person becomes as an adult. In some ways, are we creating people who only have temporary storage instead of a rich personal foundation of knowledge and learning? RAM individuals who don’t keep knowledge on a permanent basis but only in a temporary cache for the immediate need? When I feel my anxiety levels grow after watching the news, when I notice my jaw has been tight all day because my to-do list has been growing instead of shrinking, I can stop anywhere, anytime, with no need for internet access, and in my head recite the Wendell Berry poem, “The Peace of Wild Things” that I took the time to memorize years before because it brings such comfort and perspective to me in my moments of personal crisis. I could rush to Google and search “comforting poems” perhaps, but somehow having it in my head, with me always, my own secret, personal pearl of great price that I can access at anytime gives me a deep sense of personal peace. We only have so much time, so much of a kid’s brain that we can claim territorially. We are driven to try to make the best use of that time and territory. The impulse to align that drive to one purpose, whether it be technological literacy or not, is strong. But the question is, what are we creating?
Every student will need to have access to a computer and internet access. In some cases, the education system will need to provide students with home access in order for technology to be equitable for all.
Our students will need to learn to work together and understand that all voices are to be shared and heard.
To move forward we must empower our students to think out of the box, be creative, and not to be scared to share their thoughts.
ALL students will need access TODAY to technology, so they can become 21st century literate. Currently many of our "at risk" youth are without equal access to technology, and our district often makes gaining access to the tools necessary to provide students with this access difficult. Computers are limited in number and those that are available are often old, slow or don't work.
I believe that our students will need the support and understanding to function on a global scale. Students will also need educators to keep up the growing technology. Students also need the understanding that they learn and interact in a different way.
In addition to skills in technology, our students will need skills for sifting through the enormous amount of information available. They will (and do now) need to be able to critically evaluate the sources of information for their biases and authenticity. It will be (and is) critical that they seek out the sources used by all information generators. In fact, I noticed that the video clip we watched in class on 21st century literacies did not list at the end the sources used for all of the statistical information provided in the clip.
Our student will need greater access to technology in the classroom. We will need "smarter" classrooms.
Our students will need to be technologically savvy.
They will need to be connected to a world that is changing faster than any of us can really comprehend.
They will need a continuously updated technology to keep them linked to our world.
Students will need training, so they will use this technology with honor and with heart.
To be prepared for the future, our students will need to learn to communicate effectively, think, problem solve, be adaptable, and work with others. I'm finding that today's students want to learn or do things quickly and not enter into activities that require thought, analysis, and synthesis.
Post a Comment