21st Century Students and Technology

How will you be your own agent of change in the classroom to meet student expectations - is it your responsibility?















As I said before, I believe in regards to the Ken Robinson video, I think students would most benefit from having a technology class separate from regular subjects to learn how to "create." This demand for technology education incorporated into every class does not leave much room for content. In the video from Kansas State University, the students keep asking "What are we learning?" Why is factual information so undervalued in these videos? Yes, students need to learn how to analyze and evaluate information and new, relative to the present information so that they can evolve in the future. But this process does not take place in a historical vaccuum. Students need to learn the content and facts (as close as one can actually atain them) to be able to place new information in context and, then, analyze and evaluate. I don't believe students and teachers should be slaves to "essentialist," traditional content, but students do need to learn what has happened in the past and, most importantly, WHY. As a future history teacher and a current history major, in always considering the future classroom, I must look to the past, and I want my students to be able to do the same and have a full and thorough understanding of that past, which they will mainly gain through teachers' instruction and books. The most disappointing part of both videos is the statistic regarding how little students read (books or at least something of substance) and how much time they spend looking at Facebook profiles. When I consider the prompt question of change, I think about the underlying message of the videos. The change they are talking about is competitive (blatantly with China) in terms of business and industry. I am not going into teaching to "create" a bunch of little American industrialists who can "create" a "better" web page than a little Chinese industrialist. I am looking to inspire human change and betterment. Students who think about others and empathize, who do not repeat the same repetitive mistakes of history. If, as the video presents, an eight year old girl is already "a digital native," what is really left for me to teach her about technology by the time she is in high school. Her technological education will greatly outpace mine I am sure.

Ken Robinson and Creativity (Group B)

After reading Marisol's response (http://mmc22.blogspot.com/) and Kathryn's response (http://kstocza2.blogspot.com/), both seem to be half convinced of Robinson's argument but desire more. Marisol points out that Robinson does not offer any solution to changing the educational structure and its stifling of creativity, while Kathryn points out that Robinson limits the cause to education rather than the social promotion of individuality and egotistical interests. Both are correct, but I do not think either is completely correct. Robinson is speaking to the solution, i.e. educators (us), and he does not exclude the problem of societal structures stressing individuality and egotism because education shapes and molds those structures while it is also reciprocally shaped and molded by those structures as well. We are talking about change...beyond modern industrialism, degrees, and the rat-race for the highest paying job (perhaps). Teachers may find themselves more free or constrained in the future. How are the goals of education changing? No Child Left Behind can be a major obstacle, or it can be a minor nuisance. Educators themselves need to be creative. Is their a "right" and "wrong?" How does a teacher tell a child he or she is "wrong" without stifling creativity (this obviously differentiates with age)? Honestly, I feel that people come before work/study, and that schools are overly academic vs. social. To incorporate this into my future classroom setting, I think creativity falls in line with openness, acceptance, and social responsibility which are the main pillars of my goals of education.

Technology and Teachers

In answer to the question regarding teachers and technology, I think teachers should be competent in using computer technologies and programs, and I think that they should incorporate computer use in class for student research. Ultimately, however, I think students should polish their technological skills in a class specifically dealing with technology use. I think this would be more efficient and beneficial to students rather than having each subject classroom try to squeeze in a few minutes of tech education into every class.

Welcome

Hello,
My name is Dustin Shattuck. I am from Springfield, IL, and I went to Pleasant Plains High School where I would like to return to teach Social Studies once I graduate.