First off, the video about the school system that has gone mobile (or, if you prefer, the commercial for a company that manufactures computer components, and thus has a vested interest in getting their products used by more and more people): This seemed to be so extreme to me. Are students really incapable of learning anything without the assistance of some mobile device? I have link ed (in previous posts) to several articles that raise an alarm over the type of significant cognitive changes brought about by constant digital whiplash. True, one could argue that it is just a "different" type of cognition, and not an inferior type. But are we certain of that to the degree that we are willing to turn the classroom into an extension of the 24/7 app and net centered thinking that already occupies much of our students' non-school time? I would hope that those proceeding would do so with caution, and the fact that this project was funded by Cisco should also make us pause.
QR Codes: A thought that I keep having time and time again throughout this course is: is this a way to do something new, or just a new way to do something old? If it is a new way of doing something old, is it better than the old way? Tali, in her last post, noted that Tackk is just a new version of making a poster, and wondered what is wrong with the old fashioned tools of paper, markers and glue. I feel the same regarding some of the usages of the QR codes. They are essentially a way of sharing a hyperlink, so the question is under what circumstances is it better than the old way? In an advertisement, I get it. People may not put in the effort to type in a URL that they see, but if it just a one step action of scanning a QR, they may bite. So, thinking about Avraham's activity: The old alternative would be to create a googledoc with the four links, and email the students the link to the googledoc, and give them the handouts separately. So I see that this "all-in-one" solution of giving out the worksheets with the embedded QR codes is preferable. I also liked the book report poster, as it helps keep the poster very clean, without a lot of text, and allows the reader to focus in on what their point of interest is. Some of the other uses do not excite me. Create a QR code that is a link to the homework assignment? Why not just have a central classroom site where you post a normal link?
Bottom line: It looks like a tool that will be useful in some cases, but more bells and whistles in others.
I agree with you that a lot of this week's material just seems like bells and whistles. It's interesting that you relate back to other parts of the course, like Tali's comment that using Tackk to make a poster is still just making a poster, and what's wrong with glue and paper. In fact, I think there are a LOT of things RIGHT with glue and paper (and I even say this after working on a poster for the conference this week...). Human beings are meant to have human, tactile experiences, and not just live on the computer!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for helping put into words some thoughts that have also been floating around my head. How much of this stuff is a new way to teach old things. I think that after this course each of us needs to filter out the "gimmicks" from the learning tools.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to all.
The "gimmicks" could also be fun to use, as long as we are aware that they are gimmicks.
DeleteHello Yehoshua! I enjoy your critical writing! I agree with you that most of the time we don't create something new, just do something old in new ways (nice insight there!) However, I do think it has an importance. I look at it as an update and upgrade. We're updating something which might be great and effective and upgrading it to be more current and attractive. Yes, nothing wrong with scissors and glue (remember the days when people said glue is banned in class because kids get high from it? Me neither, but I'm sure they were…) but today students have smartphones and they look for QRs, so why not use them? We need to keep being updated and upgraded all the time, otherwise, we'll be irrelevant to our students pretty soon… (Unless we're so cool and charismatic and "buy" students with our endless charm!)
ReplyDeleteWe do need to keep updated, but also to remember that there are advantages to the old way. For example, now, when I need to look up something in the encyclopedia, I use Wikipedia. Notwithstanding the issues that plague Wikipedia as far as agenda-driven editors go, there is also that downside that, in the "old days" when looking up one article, my eye could be caught by something adjacent, and new knowledge would be obtained. Rabbi Sacks from England writes how now he can order any book he needs and have it delivered within a day or two, but oh how he misses browsing in the used book stores. Something gained, something lost, and the more we are aware of that, the better off we will be.
DeleteYehoshua,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your enlightening and thought- provoking entries. I must admit that I was very axcited at first about this unit but you made me realize that we may lose the depth in the learning and the level of real understanding with all the technology. Recently I had to give a presentation to the teachers at my school about a certain educational project that the school is working on and when I approached members of the heads of the school to discuss it, it was obvious that they only saw the tools and graphics and hadn't paid attention to the content at all.
So is this what is happening with our students?
This generation of students sees posters and markers as something third world. If you as a teacher give them the option of either making a technological book report or a construction paper poster like presentation you will win by choosing the technological side. You will be taking a risk, and challenging yourself to get a hold of a new technology that whether or not we like it, is not going to not get into the classroom. Plus, your rapport with the students will distinguish yourself amongst every living teacher they have ever had. You are right that there is nothing new under the sun, but pushing ourselves and our students to take the next step that they are ready for already will only benefit everyone. Take into consideration that you are already an awesome teacher and use these tools, you can direct the students to really grasp the ideas you want them to in a way that will really make them like learning.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting discussion, and I think everyone is raising excellent points. I agree that some of this stuff is bells and whistles, and markers will appeal to some students (ues, there are some out there), while graphic design on the computer will appeal to others. I think that we have to be aware that technical skills are going to be the key to our students' success. On the other hand, they will still need social skills - my father, who is a computer programmer, just replaced someone who was fired for being not "socially competent." And we're talking about a computer guy!
ReplyDeleteI think that we should encourage our students to use tikk tak, etc, but how can we do that without the technology in our schools? On Monday I took my class to the computer lab to type up their story endings (next step is to publish). Forget using cool websites, they didn't know how to send their stories as an attachment in their emails or how to change word so that it typed the right way in English.. wow!! Those are skills they will need for the real world. and I'm proud to have taught them that.
The technology sector stands to make a lot of money off of us, as Josh points out, (albeit this may not be a good thing) so it is even more important that we train our students so that they can be a part of the technological boom and not be left behind...