Monkey scribbles …

American critic and educator, Neil Postman (1931-2003), provides a thought-provoking attack on television and what it does to us in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death. His main theme under discussion refers to the decline of the printed word and the ascendancy of the “tube” with its tendency to present everything from news to entertainment. First written in 1985, Amusing Ourselves to Death, provided a landmark in the way that Postman considered the way in which electronic media was shaping and would shape our culture. With the advent and major changes in technology today, Postman’s references carry even more significance. 

Postman makes the point that technologies do not add to society but transform it. Wright (2009) states that “It is therefore naive for us to think that modern electronic technologies are merely additives to society. In schools they are changing practice but in the broader sense they are changing the way learners make sense of their world”. Wright (2009) continues by identifying that text messaging, social networking sites, email and blogs have and “… are making major changes to the way we connect, and in particular the way school age students do”. As educators, we need to consider effective ways for using technology. We need to set examples of good practice and encourage learners to engage at higher and deeper levels of thinking and discussion. As Wright (2009) points out, our discussions with learners should consider “… just how technology is changing their world”.

A though provoking read and well worth hunting down in the library, book shop, or even using technology to find it online!

Reference

Postman, N. (1985). Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Penguin: USA.

Wright, T. (2009). SHORE reports: from the Headmaster. 

Lees (2008) writes that “Technology is forging new ways of teaching and learning“.  She identifies that “Technology is changing the way we learn. That is a given as school students — the ubiquitous digital natives — come to class equipped with skills and expectations unparalleled in schools in 20 years”. As a consequence, maybe, or rather as a matter of course, technology is also changing the way in which teachers teach. Lees (2008), in reference to the changes occurring to how teachers teach, states that “from how they engage their students and manage their classrooms, to how they shape their working day, manage their professional lives — and indeed how they think about a career in education”. 

Teacher, Wendy Pettit, refers to the impact that technology has had on her Year 5 class and feels that the adoption and change “has been gradual and led by the students”. Dale Spender, an educationalist, sees the shift with technology to be fundamental and states, “There has been a switch from passive to active learners, and active learners need a different range of support staff”. Spender continues by speculating that “skills and new areas of expertise will grow”. Matthew Kearney, a senior lecturer at UTS, “… makes the point that technology will have an impact on how educators manage their career profiles, build their credentials and gain professional recognition …”. He continues by stating that technology will offer teachers “… a flexible and convenient way to develop professionally, providing an opportunity to exchange resources and share success stories”. 

Reflection

1.  In what ways do you think technology is changing the way that we learn?

2.  How will technology assist you as an educator with your class(es)?

Reference

Lees, Kirsten. (April 05, 2008). Teachers on learning curve. The Australian.

Same Suburb Different Park (2009) identify in their post ‘Mobile phones put to good use‘ that some of the other uses of a mobile phone are related to constructive, educational uses within learning. They refer to the 2008 Horizon Report which outlines a variety of uses including the suggestion of podcasted information for museum tours. Whilst technology is constantly changing and the mobile phone is caught up with a paradigm of not always being a phone, schools and educators are faced with interesting challenges. Consideration needs to be given to the effective and responsible usage of mobile phones, as tools, in the teaching and learning process. Same Suburb Different Park (2009) state that “the iPhone and similar next-generation phones have arrived in Australia but are still basically in a stage of infancy”. Some educators today are also in a stage of infancy at realising the changes that have occurred with technology and how these changes might impact on their classroom and the learning by students and themselves.

Reflection

How should mobile technology including phones be used in classrooms?

What constraints are there that need to be considered if mobile phones are used in the delivery of a lesson?

Image Source

Original Chart:  Nokia Mobile Phones; There Is One For Everyone!

Made available under Creative Commons 2.0 Attribution

Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Available at: http://www.mypage.com/smallbiznet/weblog/category/Mobile%20Edition

Perkins (2009) refers to a pilot program where iPods are used for school work. The results include improved attendance by students and an increase in the enthusiasm for learning in classrooms and the completion of homework. Classroom teacher, Louise Duncan, who has set up the project at Shepparton High School in central Victoria made an interesting comment from her observations when she states that “… not all teenagers were comfortable in a digital environment. We assume that 14-year-olds are really technologically savvy, but they’re often not”.

Reflection

1.  What innovative ways do you thing iPods could be used within a classroom to deliver lessons that will engage today’s student?

2.  Why is there an assumption that all students today are “technologically savvy” when it appears that this is not necessarily the case?

Reference

Perkins, M. (January 2009). Homework is fun on a touchscreen. The Sydney Morning Herald – Weekend edition: Education.

Perkins, M. (January 3, 2009). Homework is fun on an iPod Touch. The Age.

Mariella comments briefly about the characteristics of today’s students and supports this with a short video by  Michael Wesch, entitled ‘A vision of students today‘. This video summarises in an effective manner some of the characteristics of students today. Mariella states, in reference to the statistics displayed, that she isn’t surprised by what is highlighted. She continues by identifying that “Once again, it highlights the major influence that the internet has in learning & exploration for the majority of students”.

This is a worthwhile video to look at and to compare with an earlier posting of mine (September 29th, 2008) relating to the “Challenges of teaching … which was also supported by a short clip identifying the needs of students and a vision of where teaching and learning today is headed to support, encourage and nurture individuals …

Did you know that “This year’s crop of Year 12 students was born at the same time as the first web browser (Head, 2008)?”

With the vast changes in technology, online growth and access to resources has been so fast that students today are able to access more than 100 million websites – amazing!

Students entering today’s classrooms are digital natives who have grown up with technology and are not aware of a lifestyle that does not include computers, mobile phones, electronic gaming and the many other things that are a natural part of their day. This interest and knowledge of technology by the “natives” impacts on teaching, delivery of lessons and engagement of individuals. There are professional development needs by the “immigrants”, as they consider effective ways in which to use technology as a tool for learning, recording assessments and meeting syllabus outcomes.

John Pegg, professor in mathematics and education at the University of New England, who co-authored the Partnerships in ICT Learning (PICTL) study (October, 2007) stated that he believed there was “a profound gap between what people hope rolling out computers into schools will do, and what will more likely be achieved”. He continued by commenting that by “Just paying for computers to be installed in schools is the easy option … the hard work is the professional development of teachers and updating of assessment techniques”.

Reflection

1. What do you see as important in terms of teacher professional development relating to the use of ICT?

2. Have you experienced any worthwhile ICT professional development that has assisted you in your classroom practice?

Reference

Head, B. (September 2008). Who’s Teaching Who? Education Review: Technology Guide.

Available at: www.educationreview.com.au; www.campusreview.com.au 

Partnerships in ICT Learning (PICTL) study

Available at: http://www.digitaleducationrevolution.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/36691A6C-2772-484C-A9F7-30F51A1B83E6/22590/pictl_case_studies1.pdf

An interesting article appears in the ‘U’ publication (10.08) circulated for students of UTS. Headed Library Scan: are libraries obsolete in the digital age? It poses the question:

In today’s world – saturated with modern technology and immediate information – are libraries obsolete? Dr Alex Byrne believes not and says more than ever, libraries are vital and relevant in the electronic age.

Libraries are described as being gateways to knowledge … crowded with students ready to learn … and, vital to ensuring that the emerging information society will truly aspire to be for all and be fair and just for all.

In relation to school aged students, libraries composed of mainly text-type materials do not cater for the needs of Generation Y. Slowly, some schools are embracing the needs of the students in the digital age by allowing access to social networking sites, software applications that support podcasting and blog type environments.

Reflection

Will libraries endure and continue to be vital gateways in education to provide information in this intensively wired world?