The Generation Z presentation has significantly changed my preconceived ideas about students and technology in classrooms. Generation Z is group both heavily reliant and overly attached to technology; they are born with technological devices ‘joined at the hip,’ some might even say. I certainly encountered this while on professional practice in a secondary school. On the bus on the way there, there were students on mobile phones and tablets or listening to IPods. Even in the classroom, I found that laptops had virtually replaced pen and paper. I had always thought this pervasiveness of technology for today’s students presented more detrimental effects than beneficial ones, particularly with issues associated with authenticity and originality. However, the presentation transformed my rationale for e-learning and helped me to realise the tremendous advantages of incorporating technology as pedagogical tools into the classroom. In a world with technology at the forefront, students today already possess an inept proficiency and familiarity with this phenomenon. Therefore, as a teacher, utilising e-learning will help me to deliver a far more enriching and engaging learning experience to all students in my future classroom.
Big
Thinkers: The Science of Learning
The Big Thinkers: The Science of Learning presentation has really opened my eyes to a very significant issue in the classroom; boredom. The key ideas that I captured from this presentation are as follows:
- The capacity for boredom in the classroom lies in the way (teaching styles and approaches) that students are being taught
- The brain goes into a state of stress when it is bored, and as a result has trouble focusing and comprehending information
- Teachers should stimulate students’ curiosity in a classroom through the use of visual aids – different coloured markers, a hat or other prop
- Create and maintain a safe learning environment for all students in all domains (physically and emotionally)
- Develop students’ 21st century tools and skills that they will inevitably need in the real world (judgement, critical analysis, evaluation and problem solving) (Edutopia, 2011)
The premise of e-learning is
revolutionary in the realm of boredom. By utilising and incorporating new digital
technologies into one’s pedagogy; teachers have the capacity to make learning
experiences more interactive and engaging and to create a classroom environment
devoid of boredom, where students’ curiosities are constantly aroused. This
power is not limited in any way in scope and can be applied in a range of
different discipline areas and contexts. For example, technology can be
employed in a Year 11 Accounting classroom to enhance learning by providing excellent
resources to demonstrate learning theory such as videos and applications to
support the input of data and automation of the accounting process (MYOB, QuickBooks).
Comparatively, technology can also be incorporated to improve student learning
in a Year 10 English classroom by providing tools and resources which can make
learning more engaging and interactive help students grasp important literary
concepts (Quiz let, Prezi, Wiki spaces) and provide an area for debate and
discussion (Blogger). However, with the implementation of technology is the
possibility for many implication or shortcomings in a traditional classroom
setting. These may include the possibility for student distraction and
disengagement, issues associated with flat batteries, power outages or damaged
devices, issues associated with network authentication, storage or outages and
issues associated with safe and ethical use of devices.
Creativity
and 21st Century Learners
The Creativity and 21st Century Learners presentation has revealed to me the rigidness of our education system on the premise of creativity. One of the key messages that the speaker, Ken Robinson delivers is the fact that “every education system…has the same hierarchy of subjects[;]…at the top are mathematics and languages, then the humanities, and at the bottom are the arts” (Robinson, 2007). I indeed found this to be true, thinking back over my experiences at high school. Even though I did very did in a creative subject, visual art; it was always rated, in terms of subject achievement indicators, very poorly and below all other subjects, even though I performed comparatively the same or better. This is a premise that continues to emerge in education. As Robinson points out, we live in a world where we are effectively “educating people out of their creative capacities” (Robinson, 2007). The emergence of digital technologies gives us the power to change this. Many new technologies now have a focus on fostering creativity and promoting originality. For example, these may include digital tools such as Abode Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash Professional, Apple GarageBand and Sony Creative Software Acid.
References
Edutopia (2011). Big thinkers: Judy Willis on the science of learning. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/big-thinkers-judy-willis-neuroscience-learning-video
Robinson, K. (2007). Sir
Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
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