Straker article - This article discusses how computers will enhanced students abilities with fine motor skills, social interaction, and cognitive ability. These are the three that stood out to me. I agree that fine motor skills and cognitive ability will be challenged and could possibly be improved by the use of computers if the students are focusing on the detailed aspects of computer use. However, if students are only focusing on the minimum to get through the assignment, which the most often do, they will not be challenging their minds or their motor skills. I disagree with the social interaction portion of this article. Students do not experience traditional interaction when using the computer. Email, instant message, facebook, etc. do not encourage direct interaction. Students may know how to abbreviate words and communicate, however, they are not learning how to act in person. They are not forced to look others in the eye, hear the way they emphasize their words, etc. Computers definitely have their positives and negatives.
Prensky article - I agree with this article in that society is not allowing teachers to serve their initial purpose. My opinion on this one is similar for the previous article in that society makes communication easy for the students. Technology provides a different "language" that the students speak. They do not know how to directly communicate with those of us who are older and experienced a more traditional communication upbringing. That being said, they are more prepared for the future of technology and the generations ahead. We are going to continue to be advanced when it comes to technology and they will be able to communicate in that "language" more so than those of us who do not understand it. With both sides defended, I agree with the article in that as teachers we need to be able to teach to both the legacy and future contents. Society is changing and we do need to keep up with the times while still covering the importance of where we came from and how to communicate in a traditional manner.
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Discussion question relating to the Digital Native article:
ReplyDelete1) While most students do have some sort of technology in their lives, not all students are in the economic brackets that allows for home computers, video games, etc. What are teachers supposed to do if they find themselves in a school system with several students with very poor tech-skills, while the rest of the class can zip along on the internet? These students should not be penalized because they have not been typing on a computer since they were toddlers, but a general usage problem would arise from a class that was very tech oriented.
I agree with many of the comments that were made before. I think that the use of technology can allow teachers to reach students in so many different ways. I'm a special education teacher, so I have to present material in many different ways to ensure that my students retain the information. Despite the coutless options that technology and computers offer, there are a lot of issues as well. The school that I work at provides each student with their own laptop. For the majority of the teachers and students the laptops are great resources, but for some of the teachers who are not as experienced using the internet or computers they don't use the resources as effectively. A lot of the students spend a lot of time of task in class, because they are playing games or on various restricted websites. The majority of the students are better with the computer than the teachers, so its hard to block them. The students social skills I think do suffer as well as others. Thats the way that our society is moving, we want information or results immediately. I think that we should embrace the change, but focus on saftey and how to get reliable information.
ReplyDeleteTrey simpson