"Generation IM" is quite the insightful article. In many ways it's similar to the articel we read a few week ago: "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants." It sresses that young people's brains are much different than the previous generations. The younger generation simply will not be able to learn effectively without the use of technology and inovation.
The quote that struck me the most is...
"we need to use technology in compelling and progressive ways, if we fail to do so, kids are going to look at what’s going on in schools and see that it is irrelevant."
I think that this is a real potential. If teachers don't teach their students life skills (a big part of that has to do with technology) then students will simply find school to be useless. If school doesn't help teach them things they will need to survive in the real world, then teachers are not doing their job properly. Students will disengage from school, and focus on things that they think are important if teachers don't implement technology effectively.
I think that science is one of the easiest content areas to incorporate technology into. Teachers can find useful diagrams and virtual videos for any particular science lesson on the internet. For example, if students are learning about muscle systems, then a teacher can find a virtual tour on line and go through it with the students. This will help engage their attention, and help them learn.
I, too, read that line and found it striking, but unlike you, I didn't spend much time reflecting on it. I appreciated your thoughts because it really made me think about my own attitudes toward technology.
ReplyDeleteI tend to find myself, more often than not, in the anti-technology camp. Of course, I find technology useful, but I am appalled at the ways society misuses it. So thinking about integrating it into my classroom almost seems harmful.
Your perspective has made me rethink that. If we don't show kids that what we are teaching is valuable in our society (which is crawling with technology), they WILL disengage. Now it seems dangerous to avoid technology integration.