I believe that technology is a great way to enhance education and make the learning experience easier and more exciting for students. One statement in the article that I disagree with is "Only rarely, is it used to import genuine materials from the web." This quote states that the web access in classrooms is not used for genuine materials. I disagree with this because I have personally observed a teacher in a kindergarten classroom use the internet for useful purposes. The day after Election Day, the teacher used the internet to open up pictures of our new president, Barack Obama. She did this so that the students could become familiar with the face of our new president. I thought it was amazing how fast the resources can be shown to the students. There is another point in the article, which I do agree with, states that the internet has created a kind of communication that other media has not accomplished. I agree with this because the internet allows for more advanced communication. It is also an immediate source of information, which gets updated by the minute. It allows people to voice their own opinion on world issues using blogs, or webcams. Before this technology, all we could do is sit back and watch what was going on, without having a voice. Although internet is a great innovation in education, it is still important to maintain human interaction in the classroom. Using both human interactions and technology will create a new classroom environment, with quick useful resources and new ways to learn and share our learning experience with others.
Whether it is turning on one’s TV set, or riding a subway train, technology is responsible for the proper function of nearly every aspect of society. It gives us the ability to save time, make money, and create networks, businesses, and organizations which bring communities together. The essay on education technology takes a look at how students are exposed to new methods of education involving technology, as well as the pro’s and con’s to completely allowing the internet to take place if the classroom. The essay presents many valid points in this regard, one of which caught my attention and made me question about my original opinion. At first I was convinced that while online education might save time and money and be greatly convenient to students. I thought that it would be much easier to log into a computer and communicate with professors and other students without actually having to drag myself to class and in turn allowing me more time to work. I felt that if both students and professors would be responsible in communicating and completing assigned tasks, online education would work very well. Blogs could take place of in classroom discussions, and emails could be sent as often as needed to convey messages and ideas. Projects could be completed through programs such as Skype, where students get webcams and are able to see each other on their computers and communicate from the comfort of their own homes.
The last paragraph in the technology in education essay was an incredibly interesting and very valid point made. It states that “With online courses, we remove the physical community of the classroom from the teaching/learning equation. Technology, which is responsible for this loss, is also the method by which a different community can be created in its place, a community that could be even more active and effective than the one that we abandoned.( Best practices for online learning essay)” It is funny how we lose one method of community and communication but not being in the classroom setting, meanwhile forming a new and different type of community, perhaps one that is even closer knit in many instances. It is like that expression “where one door closes, a window is open”. Meaning even though a group of students and a professor may not have the physical classroom setting relationship congregating several times a week, they still can create a community for themselves, where some people may express themselves with greater ease behind computer screen than in front of their peers. My only fear and qualm with the idea is that people might end up losing social skills they develop through interacting in person, which could in turn hinder their communication skills in the workforce. I believe that in the end, nothing can take the place of a thorough lecture with a wonderful and knowledgeable professor, however online education is an excellent timesaving tool for students all over the world.
When using my imagination, I can think of several positive technological developments that could take place in the future. One would be a way for students from all walks of life, across the entire universe to be able to take online classes together, depending on their level of education. I think it would be so interesting to learn with someone from South America , Australia , Europe , etc. This way education would have no borders, which is an exciting concept. I am also still anticipating flying cars! My number one wish, however, would be for technology to develop a way to time travel. I have always wondered what it would be like to go back in time, or even into the future, and I am convinced that one day (perhaps not in our lifetime) technology will make it a reality.
The fundamental obstacle preventing the effective integration of new technologies in education lies in the genesis of our current educational system. In that this system was devised to harness the powers of typographical media, it is inherently incompatible with the so-called “new media.” That being said, it may be possible to utilize the strengths of the infotech revolution if we accept that education must adapt to the emerging technologies and not the other way around. This process of adaptation should not, however, be confused with a wholesale re-imagining. Though “the concepts of ‘ownership and participation’… along with ‘horizontal,’ non-hierarchical communication” are in many ways antithetical to the principals now valued in education, the primacy of face-to-face interactions should not be abandoned in favor of digitally mediated ones. One way to achieve this balance between traditional community and technology would be to increase interaction in the classroom using computers. Ideally this would mean one computer for every student wirelessly connected to a digital blackboard at the front of the class. This would not only allow the professor’s lecture notes to be saved directly to the student’s hard drives, but also allow those students to contribute directly t the lesson simply by sending information to the board. With this system implemented each computer would contain at the end of a class the work of the entire classroom community thereby turning a vertical learning system into a horizontal one.
I think that it is a misconception to believe that a person will suffer greatly educationally if they are deprived of technology this essay talks about. It is obviously a useful tool, but prior to its existence, we learned in different ways that I still find more rewarding, and despite what the essay sites, just as community forming. However, I think that in order for infotechnology to applied to education successfully, we must get past the boundaries of the medium. It must become, just that, only a medium. In the not so distant future I envision that online education will be less about the tools it takes to use it, because that will be understood, and more about the information it carries. I do not think this is a farfetched goal, my 70 year old grandmother uses email. The essay sites that technology is responsible for the loss of a physical community in the classroom with advent online courses, but that there is the potential for a more “effective” community in its place. I would strongly disagree with this, and find that attitude slightly dangerous. I feel that preserving physical communities can work well to form online communities as well. We should not abandon the library simply because of online resources, but rather we should embrace them both. I am slightly apprehensive of completely a completely automated community as I have this unfounded fear that everything will become computerized in a robot fashion and all advanced societies will have a technological revolution that involves the burning of libraries. Strange, yes I know. I do hope that in the future there will be an increase of reliable resources on the web. This will establish more trust, in students and teachers, and will make it more likely for professors to accept online sources. Currently, most professors are reluctant to accept numerous sources from online location because of the freedom the internet grants in allowing just about anyone to publish something on a topic of their choosing. Aside from being able to compare oneself to ones contemporaries via publishing homework online, the internet can aid the learning process through its anonymous nature. A person can seek knowledge on any topic without feeling judged. This aspect also lends itself to the community forming agents of the internet. A person that would be reluctant in real life to seek support for any number of things, can enjoy the anonymity that online communities grant. I would say that currently social networking sites are a great avenue for free-expression. I will not deny the multitudinous benefits of information technology. I am a strange member of my generation, for I have always dreamed about doing extensive research in the dusty stacks of some libraries basement. However, I am not a total Luddite as I have certainly embraced the many ways in which the internet has made my life easier (Computerized card catalogs anyone?). I will say though, conveniences aside, I think that the internet has a long way to go before it becomes a suitable substitute for in the flesh classmates and professors.
Mohamad Awad's Comment was selected as the best comment:
In terms of pedagogical approaches, education has always undergone various transformations. Technology serves as an agency which is thought to improve the lives of people. Given that technology serves for improving the lives of individuals who choose to take advantage of what it has to offer, the sphere of education should also readily inhibit its features. With the advent of television, educators were encouraged to aid the visual mode to which some students learn by screening videos about the content they are teaching. The usage of overhead projectors, PowerPoint presentations, and the internet also aids teachers in conveying information to students which was previously unconceivable. Using the technology available has always allowed educators to find meaningful ways of aiding all types of learners while feasibly aiding the teacher in transmitting information. These transformations in education were always conceived as being a step away from conventional education which incorporates the teacher as being the prime transmitter of content. The incorporation of technology in the classroom as slowly transgressed to being acceptable to society’s critics. Offering online courses has especially moved away from the feel of community in a conventional setting, given that they lack the physical element associated with them. Online courses, however, have the unprecedented ability to aid individuals whose lives’ time constraints do not allow them to take advantage of education. Although the sense of community cannot be acquired the same way or to the same extent, it can be achieved substantially through the mediums of email and instant messaging between the students and the teacher. Course materials can also be obtained via the courses website and other modes by which they can be received. Therefore, extending the usage of online courses will enable more individuals to receive degrees. Since more individuals will have professional degrees, society will thus excel significantly due to the high rate of individuals who will aid in build their societies.
While reading the essay titled Best Practices for Online Leaning, I found a few positive points about technology in the classroom. As I had commented on my blog post about this article, I feel that technology is the way of the future. Honestly it’s the way now. If we didn’t adapt to this technological world, we would be left behind educationally as well as professionally. I sometimes feel bad for the older generations because it takes them a while to understand and master the tasks technology offers. Whereas it takes most of our generation mere minutes. Generations after ours will only benefit from their technological worlds, allowing them to flourish in education and on to the professional world. The first point I found positive for future development in the classrooms is the number of activities created based on technology. Using this as an aid in the classrooms has tremendous potential. The internet holds countless web sites of information that we can use as guides to group projects or personal projects for that matter. For example, some students taking courses let’s say about forensic science, most likely don’t know too much about the subject. Thanks to the internet, we can search the subject, become aware of it, and find an activity that will help us get more familiar with it. Some companies have created computer programs for children that focus on math or social studies. These programs have educational games that teach the students about different areas of the subject. The child feels that they are playing a game because of the fun activities it has, but they are also learning through the tasks they have to complete for the next level. Secondly, I find that when we use technology for a course such as this one, we tend to try and improve our work because of the fellow classmates that can read and comment on it. The article talks about using group projects in order for the students to become aware of the standards of proficiency and performance of the others in the class. Being more aware of the work of others in your class should make you only want to improve you work. I feel there is always room for improvement. I agree with the paragraph that says that standards are missing in today’s instructions. We have become so used to the idea of taking a class, studying for tests, getting a grade and moving on. When our work is published on the internet, that lets us see what we are up against within our peers. I think that’s a great idea. I love to see what my work is up against. This is new to me. We are used to writing papers only for the professor to see. When other students are involved we can learn from mistakes, take their opinions on the matter into consideration and so forth. With the aid of technology in classrooms, it broadens our areas of learning and sometimes challenges our opinions. I do feel that technology should not take over the entire classroom, but using it hand in hand with professors input is a wonderful way of learning.
Erica Hernandez's essay was selected as the best- According to the essay, technology has advanced far beyond our expectations, such as the radio, train, TV, and what I believe is the best invention yet, the internet. Learning in a classroom can be at times not very helpful for our young minds to progress. An instructor teaching his students might not always get the students to think. Like mentioned in the essay, the student would only react to the instructors questions when the student is put “on the spot”. Usually some students don’t know what is going on in the classroom, and minds are not being challenged to their full potential. The example shown in the essay, when a group of students would analyze craigslist and point out spelling/grammar errors such as LOL, comparing prices and summarizing books via internet is the most progressive way to learn. A positive development I can imagine will take place In the near future is requiring students to have a handheld web access that would be very useful such as, a mobile phone with a web browser, small laptops, or a new small invention that would be convenient and comfortable to carry in ones pocket. This can help students stay connected while doing group work. In the future students will not be able to use the excuse “I have no internet access” technology has helped us retrieve information from all over the world.
I believe that technology is a great way to enhance education and make the learning experience easier and more exciting for students. One statement in the article that I disagree with is "Only rarely, is it used to import genuine materials from the web." This quote states that the web access in classrooms is not used for genuine materials. I disagree with this because I have personally observed a teacher in a kindergarten classroom use the internet for useful purposes. The day after Election Day, the teacher used the internet to open up pictures of our new president, Barack Obama. She did this so that the students could become familiar with the face of our new president. I thought it was amazing how fast the resources can be shown to the students.
ReplyDeleteThere is another point in the article, which I do agree with, states that the internet has created a kind of communication that other media has not accomplished. I agree with this because the internet allows for more advanced communication. It is also an immediate source of information, which gets updated by the minute. It allows people to voice their own opinion on world issues using blogs, or webcams. Before this technology, all we could do is sit back and watch what was going on, without having a voice. Although internet is a great innovation in education, it is still important to maintain human interaction in the classroom. Using both human interactions and technology will create a new classroom environment, with quick useful resources and new ways to learn and share our learning experience with others.
Whether it is turning on one’s TV set, or riding a subway train, technology is responsible for the proper function of nearly every aspect of society. It gives us the ability to save time, make money, and create networks, businesses, and organizations which bring communities together. The essay on education technology takes a look at how students are exposed to new methods of education involving technology, as well as the pro’s and con’s to completely allowing the internet to take place if the classroom. The essay presents many valid points in this regard, one of which caught my attention and made me question about my original opinion. At first I was convinced that while online education might save time and money and be greatly convenient to students. I thought that it would be much easier to log into a computer and communicate with professors and other students without actually having to drag myself to class and in turn allowing me more time to work. I felt that if both students and professors would be responsible in communicating and completing assigned tasks, online education would work very well. Blogs could take place of in classroom discussions, and emails could be sent as often as needed to convey messages and ideas. Projects could be completed through programs such as Skype, where students get webcams and are able to see each other on their computers and communicate from the comfort of their own homes.
ReplyDeleteThe last paragraph in the technology in education essay was an incredibly interesting and very valid point made. It states that “With online courses, we remove the physical community of the classroom from the teaching/learning equation. Technology, which is responsible for this loss, is also the method by which a different community can be created in its place, a community that could be even more active and effective than the one that we abandoned.( Best practices for online learning essay)” It is funny how we lose one method of community and communication but not being in the classroom setting, meanwhile forming a new and different type of community, perhaps one that is even closer knit in many instances. It is like that expression “where one door closes, a window is open”. Meaning even though a group of students and a professor may not have the physical classroom setting relationship congregating several times a week, they still can create a community for themselves, where some people may express themselves with greater ease behind computer screen than in front of their peers. My only fear and qualm with the idea is that people might end up losing social skills they develop through interacting in person, which could in turn hinder their communication skills in the workforce. I believe that in the end, nothing can take the place of a thorough lecture with a wonderful and knowledgeable professor, however online education is an excellent timesaving tool for students all over the world.
When using my imagination, I can think of several positive technological developments that could take place in the future. One would be a way for students from all walks of life, across the entire universe to be able to take online classes together, depending on their level of education. I think it would be so interesting to learn with someone from South America , Australia , Europe , etc. This way education would have no borders, which is an exciting concept. I am also still anticipating flying cars! My number one wish, however, would be for technology to develop a way to time travel. I have always wondered what it would be like to go back in time, or even into the future, and I am convinced that one day (perhaps not in our lifetime) technology will make it a reality.
The fundamental obstacle preventing the effective integration of new technologies in education lies in the genesis of our current educational system. In that this system was devised to harness the powers of typographical media, it is inherently incompatible with the so-called “new media.” That being said, it may be possible to utilize the strengths of the infotech revolution if we accept that education must adapt to the emerging technologies and not the other way around.
ReplyDeleteThis process of adaptation should not, however, be confused with a wholesale re-imagining. Though “the concepts of ‘ownership and participation’… along with ‘horizontal,’ non-hierarchical communication” are in many ways antithetical to the principals now valued in education, the primacy of face-to-face interactions should not be abandoned in favor of digitally mediated ones.
One way to achieve this balance between traditional community and technology would be to increase interaction in the classroom using computers. Ideally this would mean one computer for every student wirelessly connected to a digital blackboard at the front of the class. This would not only allow the professor’s lecture notes to be saved directly to the student’s hard drives, but also allow those students to contribute directly t the lesson simply by sending information to the board. With this system implemented each computer would contain at the end of a class the work of the entire classroom community thereby turning a vertical learning system into a horizontal one.
I think that it is a misconception to believe that a person will suffer greatly educationally if they are deprived of technology this essay talks about. It is obviously a useful tool, but prior to its existence, we learned in different ways that I still find more rewarding, and despite what the essay sites, just as community forming. However, I think that in order for infotechnology to applied to education successfully, we must get past the boundaries of the medium. It must become, just that, only a medium.
ReplyDeleteIn the not so distant future I envision that online education will be less about the tools it takes to use it, because that will be understood, and more about the information it carries. I do not think this is a farfetched goal, my 70 year old grandmother uses email. The essay sites that technology is responsible for the loss of a physical community in the classroom with advent online courses, but that there is the potential for a more “effective” community in its place. I would strongly disagree with this, and find that attitude slightly dangerous. I feel that preserving physical communities can work well to form online communities as well. We should not abandon the library simply because of online resources, but rather we should embrace them both. I am slightly apprehensive of completely a completely automated community as I have this unfounded fear that everything will become computerized in a robot fashion and all advanced societies will have a technological revolution that involves the burning of libraries. Strange, yes I know.
I do hope that in the future there will be an increase of reliable resources on the web. This will establish more trust, in students and teachers, and will make it more likely for professors to accept online sources. Currently, most professors are reluctant to accept numerous sources from online location because of the freedom the internet grants in allowing just about anyone to publish something on a topic of their choosing.
Aside from being able to compare oneself to ones contemporaries via publishing homework online, the internet can aid the learning process through its anonymous nature. A person can seek knowledge on any topic without feeling judged. This aspect also lends itself to the community forming agents of the internet. A person that would be reluctant in real life to seek support for any number of things, can enjoy the anonymity that online communities grant. I would say that currently social networking sites are a great avenue for free-expression.
I will not deny the multitudinous benefits of information technology. I am a strange member of my generation, for I have always dreamed about doing extensive research in the dusty stacks of some libraries basement. However, I am not a total Luddite as I have certainly embraced the many ways in which the internet has made my life easier (Computerized card catalogs anyone?). I will say though, conveniences aside, I think that the internet has a long way to go before it becomes a suitable substitute for in the flesh classmates and professors.
Group : DiMeglio
ReplyDeletePollack
Mohamad Awad
Lee
Mohamad Awad's Comment was selected as the best comment:
In terms of pedagogical approaches, education has always undergone various transformations. Technology serves as an agency which is thought to improve the lives of people. Given that technology serves for improving the lives of individuals who choose to take advantage of what it has to offer, the sphere of education should also readily inhibit its features. With the advent of television, educators were encouraged to aid the visual mode to which some students learn by screening videos about the content they are teaching. The usage of overhead projectors, PowerPoint presentations, and the internet also aids teachers in conveying information to students which was previously unconceivable. Using the technology available has always allowed educators to find meaningful ways of aiding all types of learners while feasibly aiding the teacher in transmitting information.
These transformations in education were always conceived as being a step away from conventional education which incorporates the teacher as being the prime transmitter of content. The incorporation of technology in the classroom as slowly transgressed to being acceptable to society’s critics. Offering online courses has especially moved away from the feel of community in a conventional setting, given that they lack the physical element associated with them. Online courses, however, have the unprecedented ability to aid individuals whose lives’ time constraints do not allow them to take advantage of education. Although the sense of community cannot be acquired the same way or to the same extent, it can be achieved substantially through the mediums of email and instant messaging between the students and the teacher. Course materials can also be obtained via the courses website and other modes by which they can be received. Therefore, extending the usage of online courses will enable more individuals to receive degrees. Since more individuals will have professional degrees, society will thus excel significantly due to the high rate of individuals who will aid in build their societies.
While reading the essay titled Best Practices for Online Leaning, I found a few positive points about technology in the classroom. As I had commented on my blog post about this article, I feel that technology is the way of the future. Honestly it’s the way now. If we didn’t adapt to this technological world, we would be left behind educationally as well as professionally. I sometimes feel bad for the older generations because it takes them a while to understand and master the tasks technology offers. Whereas it takes most of our generation mere minutes. Generations after ours will only benefit from their technological worlds, allowing them to flourish in education and on to the professional world.
ReplyDeleteThe first point I found positive for future development in the classrooms is the number of activities created based on technology. Using this as an aid in the classrooms has tremendous potential. The internet holds countless web sites of information that we can use as guides to group projects or personal projects for that matter. For example, some students taking courses let’s say about forensic science, most likely don’t know too much about the subject. Thanks to the internet, we can search the subject, become aware of it, and find an activity that will help us get more familiar with it. Some companies have created computer programs for children that focus on math or social studies. These programs have educational games that teach the students about different areas of the subject. The child feels that they are playing a game because of the fun activities it has, but they are also learning through the tasks they have to complete for the next level.
Secondly, I find that when we use technology for a course such as this one, we tend to try and improve our work because of the fellow classmates that can read and comment on it. The article talks about using group projects in order for the students to become aware of the standards of proficiency and performance of the others in the class. Being more aware of the work of others in your class should make you only want to improve you work. I feel there is always room for improvement. I agree with the paragraph that says that standards are missing in today’s instructions. We have become so used to the idea of taking a class, studying for tests, getting a grade and moving on. When our work is published on the internet, that lets us see what we are up against within our peers. I think that’s a great idea. I love to see what my work is up against. This is new to me. We are used to writing papers only for the professor to see. When other students are involved we can learn from mistakes, take their opinions on the matter into consideration and so forth.
With the aid of technology in classrooms, it broadens our areas of learning and sometimes challenges our opinions. I do feel that technology should not take over the entire classroom, but using it hand in hand with professors input is a wonderful way of learning.
Group-
ReplyDeleteNader Awad
Annunziata
Deeb
Hernandez
Erica Hernandez's essay was selected as the best-
According to the essay, technology has advanced far beyond our expectations, such as the radio, train, TV, and what I believe is the best invention yet, the internet. Learning in a classroom can be at times not very helpful for our young minds to progress. An instructor teaching his students might not always get the students to think. Like mentioned in the essay, the student would only react to the instructors questions when the student is put “on the spot”. Usually some students don’t know what is going on in the classroom, and minds are not being challenged to their full potential. The example shown in the essay, when a group of students would analyze craigslist and point out spelling/grammar errors such as LOL, comparing prices and summarizing books via internet is the most progressive way to learn. A positive development I can imagine will take place In the near future is requiring students to have a handheld web access that would be very useful such as, a mobile phone with a web browser, small laptops, or a new small invention that would be convenient and comfortable to carry in ones pocket. This can help students stay connected while doing group work. In the future students will not be able to use the excuse “I have no internet access” technology has helped us retrieve information from all over the world.