My initial reactions to the video were: WOW! Some of the stuff that was were in the video are things I don't really think about too much. One of the most interesting things in the video was that they said that China has more honor students than we have students - it is just incredible! One of the things that I worry about is math and science - I worry that our students will be inferior to students from China in math and science. I don't know if it is their work ethic in China or if it is just that they are that much smarter than we are.
They also talked about something interesting: that today's learner will have 10-14 jobs by the time they are 38 years old. I am assuming that they mean that the learner will have changed jobs 10-14 times within the same field, not that they will change their career. Is it just that these people will be unhappy with their employer or is it something else?
With all of the changes that are occurring through exponential growth and shift my teaching career is defiantly being effected. Even something as simple as always posting the homework online. Parents and students are constantly asking for the homework to be online along with all other project guidelines and announcements. People want things that their finger tips constantly. When I was student teaching students would ask that I update their grades online every week so that they could go online and see where they stand. However, I always show my students how to calculate their grade in the beginging of the school year, if they keep track of their grades they should be able to calculate their grade at anytime but that a computer can generate their grade, which requires less work and a faster response they would rather use that instead.
I think preparing students for the future is harder than ever for teachers, the video states that we are trying to prepare students for jobs that don't even exist yet and to work with technology that doesn't even exist yet. How can someone possibly foresee what the future holds in any of those areas? We don't know what obstacles or advantages there might be in the future. I think that one of the important skills that students will need are problem solving skills. They need to have the ability to look at a situation and know how to achieve a desired outcome.
This video is very scary because it shows just how much or how little is being done for our educational system in the United States. We need to expand on our life skills in our classes and in our educational system. The fact that Nintendo spent more on their research and development than the US government did on research in education in 2002 is very scary, either we are spending too much money on video games or not enough on education, but through this information it is easy to see why kids would prefer video games over learning.
A teacher can be a good teacher even if they don't use technology. For instance, one of the teachers in my department is a veteran teacher of 40 years and I consider him to be one of the best teachers I know. However, his use of technology is minimal but that does not make him any less knowledgeable. He will have his students periodically use the laptops for virtual labs or activities but he does not work technology into his teaching every day. His class is more discussion than anything else, but he teaches his students how to integrate what they are hearing in class to the labs and technology that he does use once in a while. So, just because someone does not use as much technology does not mean that their students aren't learning. If students learn, a teacher is successful!
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6 comments:
Sally,
I think that times have changed greatly from when we grew up. They have changed even more from when our parents or grandparents grew up. I know that even in teaching, people change schools and positions more than they did twenty years ago. People are qualified to teach in different fields and are willing to switch schools if the situation fits. I've seen many good teachers come and go for things such as their commute being shorter, extra prep time, or slightly more money. It may be attributed to the fact that our society is more accepting of change or it could be a "the grass is always greener on the other side" phenomenon. What do you think?
Are we doing our kids a diservice if we teach them how we were taught as opposed to how they do and will learn?
I don't think it is a dis-service, I think it is just different.
It is a delicate balance between using and relying on technology. Have you ever left your cell phone at home? Feel like you are cut off from the world?? I do! We are so dependent on posted homework, and fast email responses, that it scares me to think of what will happen if it stops working.
now a days, school disticts will not tenure any teachers due to budget reasons. This is a reason i think that so many people go through many as many jobs. students suffer from this because teachers who are more qualified to teach with technology are never around because of the older tenured teachers who do not know how to use one
As I do I agree that a teacher can be excellent without technology (I posted that on my blog too)...I tend to wonder is that necessarily the best way? If I could engage my students in a variety of ways, would that be better? I am not really sure. I agree that if students are learning, it shows a successful teacher. However, what about retention?
I really enjoyed your post...you hit many of the topics I thought about. I also was wondering about the data about the jobs. What are the relevant facts about why today's learners will have that many jobs? Is it because they have changed fields or because they find dissatifaction so quickly?
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