Teaching needs to adapt to the newest addition in society, that being the Internet. It is no secret that we are all constantly on our phones, or laptops and any other form of an Apple product. The key is reinforcing these new ways of living in the classroom. Society revolves around the teaching styles of “factory and the assembly line” (7). This is not the world we live in now. Teaching styles should reflect what students need for their future. Change the assembly concept to an interactive internet. By just merely putting a lecture-based class online does not do the work it needs to succeed. Put the class online, but also adapt it so that people can actually learn rather than just remember. When thinking of the Hierarchy of Higher Education it all gets passed down to the teacher, what they can and cannot do. What if this was the other way around? We let teachers pick a curriculum they love and thrive to teach, not just teaching it to click another box on “degree works”. Let’s go even further, what if we don’t make people use websites through the school like Blackboard, but let teachers pick what would work best. This creates a space where teachers are more excited and more willing to also learn and adapt to the current world by using new technology.
Right now many students are getting pushed into the STEM fields because that’s where we need people. And classes in the humanities are seen as obsolete and a waste of time. The real question is how do we prepare people for after college? “They want to do a better job addressing major world problems than their elders” (13). I don’t believe students earn to learn maths equations, but that they want to know how those equations fit into society. Instead of teaching to the test, we should offer challenges that are real-life ones to students. Being successful after college is also learning how to function as a human being after it. That is where humanities classes come in. For example, this English class is doing a lot of work to progress in society. Using the knowledge in this class (ENG 429) teaches us how to be better humans outside of the classroom; just like Gender Studies, history, Economic classes, etc…
This generation is the first generation to be brought up with the internet, some may say it puts us back in time because we have lost so many social skills. I don’t believe that is the case. We have become more passionate and curious, the world at our fingertips… How could you not be? A random question comes up in a conversation with you and your friend, take 10 seconds to find the answer on google. What a concept! This should be pushed into the classroom rather than shunned. We want change, we starving for it. These 19th-century lecture-style classes aren’t doing the same work they used to be. Since technology is so accessible so is knowledge. Why can’t we infiltrate that into the classroom? With the world changing every day more and more, I think that teachers should be changing their lesson plans and syllabi yearly to keep up with the times. Students adapt to all of the different teaching styles our Professors have semesterly, why don’t teachers adapt to the students as well? In a world where we need to be digitally literate, why are some still struggling (including me)? Using collaboration I think that we fight back against technophobia and find a middle ground where the technology of modern-day and classrooms can interact seamlessly. I will leave you with this, What are some ways that your professors have integrated technology into the classroom, how did it change your experience? Do you have any other ideas for teaching students how to be digitally literate and ready for the world after college?
Davidson, Cathy N. The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux. Basic Books, 2017.
Hi Tiff,
I really liked the points you made in your blog post. I agree with your points that technology needs to be better interspersed throughout the classroom in order to keep the attention of students. With the way the world is going, technology is constantly growing and evolving. Truthfully, you don’t even need to leave your house anymore because Amazon and Siri can do just about everything for you! The book says, “Students today need so-called soft skills, including strategies, methods, and tactics for successful communication and collaboration. These are necessary to navigate a world in flux…” (7). I believe these skills are not only important to have for face-to-face communication, but when engaging in activities online as well. Technology is at the forefront of everything we do; people have to be careful of what they post, when they post it, and to what social media platform. The same goes for tools and sites used in classroom settings, like Blackboard or Google Docs. One negative or hurtful comment stays online forever.
To answer your first question, I think our generation missed most of the times technology was used in the classroom. I still remember the first time I saw a Smartboard in the 4th grade, it was amazing! Now however, professors incorporate try to incorporate technology in many different ways to enlighten and challenge students. My health professor last semester used PollEverywhere, a website where she could pose a question, and students could connect either online or through text, and answer questions about the reading or notes we were taking. I believe this strategy engaged myself and my peers; reading the answers on the screen was fun and gave an opportunity for those who may feel too shy to answer out loud the opportunity to have their voice be heard (anonymously).
Technology is apart of everything we do, and by the looks of it, doesn’t look like its slowing down. Even though our generation has grown up with many of the tools and platforms, I agree that we still need assistance with certain sites so that we can not only better our knowledge, but help our future students out.
Hi Tiffany,
I enjoyed your blog post and I like how you made an emphasis that much of the world is at our finger tips and how we should expand and be given access to blogs and websites other than blackboard so we can learn how to the internet in better ways. In the reading Against Technophobia they noticed that the more time people spend online the better writers they become which I agree with. Using a website such as classroomcommons.org I feel like it has forced me to write better and I started using it last year with Professor Savonick and I actually enjoy it and it is great for collaboration projects as well. It changed my experience because I felt like I was actually producing my own work in comparison to when I use blackboard.
“Technophobia the fear of what technologies do to our brains, or our social lives, our abilities to learn, and a fear of losing skill….” (88). I feel like we as a society tend to shun and give technology a lot of negative connotations however in this reading we learn that technology is actually good. This reading encourages for us to use technology in the classroom and how we can really benefit through the usage of technology and become more familiar with it. I feel like when we do projects or assignments online [excluding blackboard] I feel more engaged and less robotic if that makes sense.
Hello Tiffany:
There is a lot to agree with your blog post. Great job- you captured the idea for your readers that being stuck in the old status quo is more harmful than combining forces with the newest addition to society- “the internet”, as you framed this. The work of technology takes a great amount of pressure off the teacher and student when it comes to realistic expectations for success. I agree with your perspective on how the great impact of assistance is when using technology- even for simple things such as BlackBoard. To have technophobia is understandable through some lens, yet through the lens of using technology to better education inside schools- it is failing to evolve with everything else that we have chosen to evolve within society. An important quote that ties into your reader’s response is that “technophobia always starts from a baseline of nostalgia. What is new is measured against some glimmering memory of a golden past before the Internet, when everyone was smart and self-sufficient and no one left lonesome” (76). You make the connection of how students want to feel like they’re learning something valuable that will continue to serve them a purpose outside of school as well. A feeling from the past isn’t going to help us catch up to the way society has changed for the better with technology. Incorporating this technology tastefully won’t result in loneliness, yet a greater sense of community.
Hi Tiffany,
I really loved all the points you made. I totally agree that the increasing presence of technology in our day to day lives makes it absolutely necessary for education to keep up. Leaving technology out of the equation is simply out of the question, as it leaves students wildly unprepared for the professional world.
To answer your question, I would say that some of my classes have done a better job than others in terms of integrating technology. I had one class in particular last semester that employed the use of a WordPress blog that we, as the students, had to create and post on. Making and writing blog posts for this website was a very helpful and formative experience for me. It was like learning a skill that I was absolutely certain would help me in the future. I think more professors need to teach in this vein. Obviously everyone cannot be having students create their own website but any integration of technology would make great strides. This would peak students’ interests gain, simply because it is a refreshing experience compared to the monotonous lecture style.
I think back to the reading when it addressed Professor Bruff’s teaching style, “[He] next informs the students that at least one pair of numbers on the screen is incorrect and has them work in small groups to identify it. The room is suddenly abuzz with activity as each student huddles together with a fee classmates….Everyone is talking, calculating, testing, totally absorbed in the exercise.” It is a common problem that professors face when students’ attentions are stolen away by their cellphones. However, Professor Bruff shows what can happen when you occupy the students’ minds with something they can actively work with rather than just talking at them. I believe we can approach technology in the classroom in the same way: as a way to make things interesting and engaging again.
Overall really great blog post, you made some awesome points!
Hi Tiff,
I enjoyed this blog post very much, particularly the socio-analytic viewpoint you have. I agree that the education is flawed and I certainly cannot vouch for the “Factory and the Assembly line” (7) technique which I was exposed to throughout the duration of my high school experience. However, I think there are issues with converting the classroom to the internet. This would allow for more convenient resources at the touch of our fingertips, yet it would further exclude kids of low income who can not afford data nor wi-fi. The prestige pipeline already filters out society and gives the advantage to the upper-class. I think however advantageous this would be, it would also make society more unjust.
Hi Tiffany!
I like your perspective on this reading. When you said “Put the class online, but also adapt it so that people can actually learn rather than just remember.” I was really impacted by this. I have a professor this semester who does not believe in posting any work and if you do not get it in class, then it is too bad. That is very sad to me because for many it is very difficult to get everything. That being said, blackboard is not the most efficient, but again, better than nothing.
I have been so fortunate as an Early Childhood/Childhood Education major. Most, if not all of my professors are incredibly progressive in terms of technology and very understanding of differing needs. In the Early Childhood/Childhood Education program there is a mandatory class teaching how to implement technology in the classroom, so as a teacher, I would want to keep this up!
Hey Tiff!
I really appreciate your imaginative wonders about how education could be if teachers got to teach what they are most passionate about and have control over how they can teach it in the best way possible. I strongly believe that this technique can promote teachers to become progressively excited each year they teach, as well as constantly improving their lessons while technology continuously advances. As teachers and students both learn to adapt to the changing technologies of the world, it can help the class go more smoothly and become enjoyable. The reading supports the importance of improved technology in the classroom by stating, “Students today need so-called soft skills, including strategies, methods, and tactics for successful communication and collaboration. These are necessary to navigate a world in flux…” (7). Introducing new technology into the classroom brings on new strategies that the students can learn and use both inside and outside the classrooms, especially in their futures.
For example, I love how Professor Savonick introduced Word Press to our class and listed the benefits it has towards our future careers. At first, it was uncomfortable because I wasn’t used to using it, but then, it all started making sense. Learning how to use Word Press will definitely benefit my future in the English department and I much rather be working on websites that will continue to help me after college, instead of Blackboard. So, I believe that students will very much appreciate more teachers reaching out of their comfort zone/curriculums and find other resources/skills to teach their students while also helping them succeed in both the present and future (with the use of improving technologies).