This video, Did you know? 4.0, is proof itself that times are moving faster, as I had to pause it during certain frames to fully process all of the facts it was throwing at me. I generally try to read science and technology news every day and think about the direction tech is headed in because I find it interesting, and I feel it is the best way to keep up with the times. It can be embarrassing watching our parents or teachers struggle with technology that we have been comfortable with from a young age, and when I have my own students or children one day, I want to make sure I do not show the same signs of being old fashioned. As soon as my brother and I started playing video games, my parents felt like they couldn't relate to us anymore and the amount of quality time we spent together seriously declined. If my children are going to be playing video games, or video chatting friends, or using smartphones, I want to be able to do it with them.
As teachers, it is especially important for us to be up to date with technology, as the youth we will have in class will spend much more time than adults playing video games, and using computers and smart phones. Children will be intrinsically interested in and excited by technology, and incorporating it in the learning process will create a more fun, modern classroom experience. As we briefly discussed in class, this could involve "flipping the classroom", where students could do more of their learning through videos and other online resources at home, at their own pace, and possibly with their family and siblings. The classroom could then become more and more the place where students get together with their peers to really apply their knowledge through projects, presentations, group work, activities, and problem solving. Or it could mean finding creative ways to incorporate video games and social networking sites, things that children are drawn to, into really meaningful projects and activities.
As this video shows, technology is becoming a more prevalent part of our lives and the world at a rapid pace, and keeping up with the changes is one of the fundamental struggles of our generation.
Tyler, I agree with you that as the world rapidly changes, teachers must adapt to new ways of incorporating learning in the classroom. I, too, agree that we must stay current with the technology that exists, because by being able to have confidence in our technological abilities, it will subsequently have a positive effect on each of our classroom environments.
ReplyDeletetechnology and concepts like flipping the classroom, definitely make the class more appealing to students. If technology makes kids want to learn and want to participate then I am all for it. In order to avoid that embarrassment and old fashion-ness schools need to provide proper instruction to teachers who are not familiar with the technologies being implemented in their classrooms.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your second paragraph. If teachers fall behind with the times, I believe student interest will decline greatly and that will have an adverse effect on learning.
ReplyDeleteI must bring up the point that as children get older its normal for their quality time with their parents to decrease. I don't think knowing the technology they know will in turn make them desire to be around a parent more. That is my sidenote.
I appreciate that you understood the video as a metaphor of itself!
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