The latest effort by the New Humanities Collaborative to tell the story of how reading and writing have been transformed by the web. What does it mean to write? to read? to publish? The answers to these questions, once obvious, must now be reimagined. Can the educational system rise to the challenge of preparing students to live, work, think, and thrive in an environment of ceaseless change?
The latest effort by the New Humanities Collaborative to tell the story of how reading and writing have been transformed by the web. What does it mean to write? to read? to publish? The answers to these questions, once obvious, must now be reimagined. Can the educational system rise to the challenge of preparing students to live, work, think, and thrive in an environment of ceaseless change?
At this point in their proliferation, much remains unknown concerning the educational and learning impacts of NDM: Will they be large or small, will the outcomes be positive, negative, mixed, or neutral? It is still too early to tell. That having been said, we believe that a "perfect storm" of NDM affordances, sociocultural changes associated with globalization, and the growing pace and interconnectedness of human life may potentially add up to a formidable tipping point. We operate on the assumption that NDM contain affordances that, if leveraged properly, could create future learning environments and cultures in which the promises of constructivist, social, situated, and informal learning are realized.
How can we use new media to foster the kinds of communication and community we desire in education? This presentation discusses both successful and unsuccessful attempts to integrate emerging technologies into the classroom to create a rich virtual learning environment
New technological tools are expanding-and fundamentally altering-the ways students can interact with the world. Helen Haste, Visiting Professor at HGSE, offers some provocative views of the implications for education that stem from new means for accessing information, communicating with others, and participating in a community. In these video segments, building on her four decades of research, Haste describes the 21st century student as a collaborative tool user who needs a new brand of competences to thrive within a changing environment.
Learning
how to use Prezi proficiently could easily take
multiple days of lessons. Therefore the students would need to spend a
good amount of time just learning
about the tool before using it to present other curricular topics. With
the time crunch in schools today this could end Prezi’s life in a classroom
before it begins.
I haven't checked out the site yet, but it sounds like an amazing tool one can use either in or out of the classroom. Your point about time however is very interesting. We are under so much pressure as teachers to prepare our students for PSSAs that one of the biggest questions we have is do we have enough time to try new stuff, even if the new material is pushing 21st century education.
Of course, the more frustrated I got the less I wanted to try to learn about how Prezi worked. I was that student that got disillusioned with what I was learning somewhere along way, and decided I wasn’t that interested in learning that “something” anymore.
To truly problem solve in life and in school one needs to be able to analyze actions that are being taken toward solving a given problem and analyze the result those actions have on the final outcome.
This is a pervasive problem - in society - but I also think in our profession. Maybe I can share what I am working on with my dissertation. It reflects some of this.
I also showed a Prezi in class. I think the groups that saw the Prezi were more engaged and seemed to have a better working knowledge of the concept than the class that did not see the Prezi.
I had a similar notion of what I thought the class would be like. I too am pleasantly surpised and excited about all the new things I have learned in such a small amount of time.
The format of the class is decidedly different. I set out to try and model a classroom environment that is most conducive to using the various tools. I am interested to get some feedback from all of you on the format of the class. I know it's a it different, but I think it works. I am open to any ideas or suggestions you might have.
I think it takes a certain type of person to excel in a class formatted in this fashion. From what I can see, all of us fit into that mold. Maybe it would not work for students who have to be here, but does for us because we all want to be here.
I agree with Doug. I think this format works wonderfully because we are all motivated to learn. I must say though, I have been stressing about our final project... I still love my rigid guidelines. Hopefully techology enables me to break the bonds of my tightly controled and structured learning style.
That is interesting, Doug. And I think you are correct in that all of you seem to have a certain disposition that operates fairly successfully in this kind of environment. Are their a variety of dispositions? Should education be accepting of varying dispositions in teaching? If so, how does the system manage that?
I feel like a big component of this class that helps us all feel like we're learning so much is the absence of right and wrong. So many classes have tests, or papers, or projects where you'll be judged in front of your peers, which causes instant stress. In this class however we're able to come and learn with each other, with out worrying about that stress. It's funny becasue as much as we all might hate the idea of 10 page papers we have been trained to show what we've learned in that format, which in a weird way almost makes us feel more comfortable doing something we don't like than doing something outside the box.
I agree with the 10 page paper bit, I wonder when higher education will let go of the old way to promote digital literacy and learning.
As educators we strive to positively reach all of our students; but often don’t ever interact with all of the other professionals in our buildings. This is a problem.
I feel like so many people (kids, teachers, parents, administrators) in the world today are scared to be wrong. This negatively affects people's ability to be life long learners. If we could all take time to realize that we have A LOT to learn from each other think about how productive schools would be. I remember learing about Japanese lesson study and the way many in Japan plan for their students. With in these planning sessions it's acually looked at as a positive trait to say you don't know much about a subject becuase it's self reflective and provides an opportunity for growth. We're missing this in America.
I would agree. Look at our policitcal system. Do we really think that a leader is going to turn our country and its complex problems around in a year? Regardless of who could have been elected last November, Americans would have expected a quick fix AND for that person to have all the answers. It doesn't work that way. Anyhow...enough of politics.
Lifelong learning is one of the most important parts of "real world". Being able to change, adapt, and communicate with others is a tool students need to know now so they can grow in the future.
I absoloutely agree with you Doug. it makes you wonder how much we teach anymore that teaches kids to be life long learners. So much of our curiculum helps them know specific facts to do well on standardized tests, which does not translate to facilitating life long learning.
I too agree but one also has to realize that the passion a teacher models to their students is also a key motivating factor in creating intrinsic learners. While we may have to teach particular skill sets we can do it with bravado thus allowing are students to realize how much fun learning can be.
While I may not be in an ideal place to utilize technology with the students I see, I am in the perfect position to use technology to enhance teaching and learning with my co-workers.
Our English department has been using google.doc to hook everyone up with all kinds of rubrics for writing projects, etc. It has work really well, if you thnk you need some type of rubric, you can usually find it on there.
You have essentially sold me on the idea which is something my tech guy hasn't done yet. I am glad you informed me that it has an equation editor. Good stuff to know.
Google docs saves files on a “cloud” in cyberspace thus allowing users to not
only save space on their hard drives, but also allowing multiple users access
for creating, editing and sharing.
Other tools such as Google Docs are capable or reaching a variety of different
learns by simply utilizing a few of the vast templates created for the tool.
Social networking sites can be incorporated to meet the needs of those students
who are strong intrapersonal learners while Podcasting meets the needs of most
musical and linguistic learners. Bodily-kinesthetic learners can now travel and
move through virtual worlds or take their handheld devices to record data while
on the go. Blogging, electronic journals and word processing applications are
excellent tools for verbal/ linguistic learners as well as intrapersonal
learners while Geocaching is great for both naturalists and spatial learners
alike
I saw something the other day about a book revisiting the MI after so many years. I couldn't seem to find it, though.
chnology it has become exponentially easier to target specific types of learners and to provide lessons that are capable of reaching a multitude of different learning styles.
I think you're correct. It's about who you connect to. If you connect to a bunch of people who talk about what they are eating or drinking, then there probably is little value. If you connect to like-minded people who have a passion for, let's say, technology or educational futurism, then you will likely grow from the sharing of knowledge.
You could say it was a “light bulb” moment when I finally realized that blogging allowed me to do all this and more
Dosen't this make you wonder how many things in life you may have closed your mind to before it them a chance. We always push our kids to "give it a chance, you might like it!" There are times that I need to remind myself of the same lesson.
I am interested to have a discussion about this. I think this mentality is at ALL levels of the educational system. That is why it is so dysfunctional! How can we change that? What can each of us do? I love your writing style, by they way.
Thanks Randy! I was actually slightly worried about posting this blog. My department reads all of my postings and I decided to take a risk to see if I would get a reaction from them. I did! Time and lack of insturction were the top issues for not "getting on the bus". Now I can confidently tell them that I can be of assistance in their learning.
The entire world has been wired for instant communication, sharing and learning, yet many are still hesitant to bridge the gap between the traditional methods that have been cultivated and ingrained by our society to the new experimental, highly addictive, personalized and engaging activities that technology can bring to the learning environment.
I do think we are. Our numbers may be small at the moment but every revolution starts small. Plus we have instant communication on our side. No revolution ever happens as fast or neatly as one would hope.
Their boat was certainly rocked today when at our faculty meeting we were informed by the administration that technology in the classroom would be a new focus. They gave me the "shifty eye" but in truth I felt as though I had won a small battle!
complete paradigm shift.
discussion, writing and debate can have on a student.
I think dicussion is key in math and would have helped me a great deal as a struggling math student. Our school recently initiated the Collins Writing program where ever subject must write and discuss. It has proven benifical across the board
Terrific goal! How will you do this? How can you bring them into the experience. I find that people in our professional that have the kinds of skills they have are so focused on themselves - "it's all about me and all the wonderful knowledge I possess. My job is to transmit that to everyone I speak to, especially my students." So how can you tap into the focus of "me?"
I intend to incorporate them as much as they will allow me to. My thoughts right now are to generate a podcast or video with their sentiments! Be prepared they are cunning and very shrewd and highly entertaining!
I have been laboriously scouring the web in search of interactive tools that will allow me to integrate technology into my classroom. I have battled with the notion that social networking sites are ruining wholesome communication, fought to obtain hardware, software and access to particular sites for my students and I have even set aside my preconceived notions to discover the benefits of certain tools within the classroom
And with Randy's class and Dr. Lewis, we are certainly doing this. I am, however, finding that researching background knowledge and learned intelligence is also helping enhance my abilities in this class. The two are dovetailing nicely!
Tell me about it. I have been working on a doctorate for three years now and plan to graduate in May. I often wonder what I will do when I am finished. I think I will have so much time, but I bet it will be less than I think. I'm sure there will be loads of other things waiting for my time and attention.