Where does technology fit?

Throughout the past year I have continually asked myself what is the value a student gets by being in my class rather than just learning biology or physics by reading some web pages or watching Youtube videos.  As a rule I have tried to promote a change in view of the world from the student perspective.  They can learn about Newton’s Second Law or about Cellular Respiration anywhere, but simply learning those concepts without the context of our class discussions or experiments with their peers leaves them with only some new content rather than a rich learning experience in which they emerge seeing the world in a new way. Reflecting on the reading throughout Module 1 has reinforced that I am on the right path, but it has challenged me to think even more carefully about what we do in class each day.  One of the things I am hoping to  plan for in this coming school year is  to think about what the kids are doing during each part of class?  For example, are they taking notes all class, discussing and listening, or are they working to find a solution with their peers?  The readings from this module have challenged me to think about what other (possibly more important) actions could the students be doing when in my classroom, and how can I use technology to help me do it?   Thomas and Seely said that “there is a difference between learning and being taught.”  I hope to frame activities with this thought in mind so that our “culture emerges from our environment” as Thomas and Seely write.

I also really connected with several of the things that Sir Ken Robinson presented.  He described our current education system as learning a bunch of answers that all happen to be in the back but reminded us not to look in the back.  I felt that he was talking about being well-schooled rather than being well-educated. Below is his video


This makes me wonder what the value our schools add to a student’s education?   Technology resources (blogs, games, wikis, Presis, etc.) open up a new door for student learning and collaboration.  Thomas and Seely tell us that in this century we must learn how to “embrace what we don’t know and come up with better questions in order to learn more and more” which makes knowing the content a vital starting point.  Digital Nation has convinced me that technology can’t be on the periphery of the classroom.  If used correctly can not only help excite kids, but also afford them the opportunity to engage with the material and the global community in a different way.

Watch Digital Nation on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

My Xtranormal video portrays a conversation a colleague of mine and I had as we are grappling with the changes, both good and bad, these new tools offer.  In the end though, how will we implement these changes within our classrooms?  What will a lesson plan look like fifty years from now?  How will we assess student learning if we aren’t assessing content?   If we aren’t teaching the students to fish for fear the pond won’t be there, what are we going to teach them? How can divergent thinking be assessed in a meaningful way and what use will being a good divergent thinker be for our future citizens? I don’t have the answers yet, but I am excited to keep searching.

The following is a link for the video
Technology and Class
by: Lelawrence03



 Dretzin, R., (Producer, Director); (2010) Digital nation: life on the virtual frontier. Frontline.

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning, cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. CreateSpace.

Robinson, K., (2010). Changing education paradigms. Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U