Caution

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/11/23/professors-yawn-rant-offers-a-lesson-in-viral-video/

This link is an article about a professor who went off in class about a students yawn. I think as teachers the digital age means that we have to be even more cautious about who we are and how we treat students. It is one thing for a teacher back in the day to do or say questionable things. Word of mouth might spread some of that, but for the most part it would be under wraps. Today, however, we live in a digital age that simply spreads news quickly. Students will watch our every move as leaders in the classroom and when we say or do things that are out of character, or simply inappropriate, the videos, news, word of these incidents can spread like wildfire. What are we doing to maintain our character?

Facebook and Twitter

I keep circling back to the very media that I most enjoy using and that have captured my personal attention. Facebook, in particular, is just a captivating media. Its amazing how my brain has been programmed to automatically click the facebook icon on my favorites bar. In fact, oftentimes I'll be getting on to check the score of a football game or something and I automatically navigate my way to facebook. Luckily, its not just some misguided obsession. Facebook is useful in so many different ways. I am able to keep up with old friends, update organization events I'm involved in, and its the BEST way to continually keep in contact with high school guys from Riverside that I mentor. In fact, without facebook there would be a large gap between myself and them. A member of my YoungLife team tells me over and over that he "needs" to use facebook more. Why? Because he feels like he doesn't keep up well enough with the guys and especially feels this when I relay great conversations I've had with him on facebook. So what do you do in the classroom with these technologies? I loved the idea at the start of the year of using twitter as a way for students to check homework and to follow a class. I mean, just brilliant. Your students can't ever really complain about not knowing what the hw is, especially if they link twitter to their cell phones. If they have neither a computer or cell phone, at the very least they can still know what the hw is because you told them in class. If there had been a twitter account for my work in high school, I would have never forgotten assignment. You feel grown up and advanced when you use a cool technology outlet for something that matters. I can't wait to see how I might implement a facebook group when I begin teaching.

Clinging to Technology

Has anyone else gotten to the point where they feel helpless with a dead cell phone? I was thinking the other day about how consistently we rely on the technology around us. Its not the worst thing in the world, after all we are teaching and hopefully using the technologies available to be effective human beings. It was interesting over Thanksgiving to attempt to make certain recipes... I couldn't have done it without googles help. What did we do before google? I think it softens us a little bit in the array of knowledge that we actually have. However, we also are simply using the tools available to us. I'm not sure where to draw the line on that. I do think that we should continue to strive to collect knowledge intellectually first while accessing what is available to us after that initial step. I really enjoy debates about this and how its supposed to look.

The World is Flat

I found the dialogue of our classes recent discussion about this book very interesting and informative. This book is incredibly descriptive about the flattened world via globalization and technological advances. We, as teachers, are thus charged with an ongoing task of preparing students for a world in which they are facing not only challenges from those around them, but from other countries as well. One of the most important questions that a student asked, and that we discussed, was surrounding that issue of competition.

Certainly, our students need to know that this "flat" world has increased their competition tremendously. Students from China, India, and a number of other countries are finding ways to stay competitive and outsourcing happens on so many levels that students can't be assured that their only competition is at the state/national level. However, how/when do we communicate that to our students?! Most students already feel enormous strain with class competition. They feel like they have to put in extra time constantly to keep up with the other students in their high school. If we amplify this concern to competition around the world, we are being truthful, but perhaps in a way that might not create a better learning environment. I'd love to see some research on when high schoolers would be ready for that type of information and how we stress that they are doing great as they are. We want progress, but we also want students to feel accepted for their current abilities.

Books and Kindle

I recently was borrowing a friends Kindle to read a work that I needed to read for class and felt... disappointed? I understand the utility of such a device and that it saves us time, space, and organization. In a world like ours, people are constantly looking for technology to simplify our lives. Yet how I've grown up defines reading as something that the Kindle can't quite accomplish. Reading a book means sitting down and leafing through the pages, smelling that old/new book smell, and preferably doing it on a beach! As I held the kindle and turned the pages from "left to right" I realized it didn't have the familiar, satisfying feel of turning the page in a book. Even the read itself was a little off to me. I've grown up in a digital age that most certainly has involved a great deal of digital reading. I've read full texts online and oftentimes my assignments have been on websites, but its always been easier and more enjoyable to read printed texts. I agree that this technology can be great for some people, but I still think that the students we teach should know the joy of opening up a book. It is still on our shoulders to reinforce that reading is indeed a joy, but to shift into the digital age and not learn what it feels like to open up a good book at the beach seems sad to me.

Television as Technology

I was wondering about many of my other classmates posts on the lines of television and the thought of TV as a popular technology that almost all kids can relate with. Unfortunately, I think the use of TV on that level is limited. Sure, they might watch all of the same shows and tv might be a very good communicator, but it seems to me like this would be the same argument that was used in one of our articles previously in the course. They talked about how we always assume that children are "technologically advanced". However, just because they use technology does not mean they are gaining skills for using it towards educational purposes. Unless we filter and funnel that learning in a way that benefits them in the future, they become people who can play video games and watch tv without relating these skills back to real life challenges and implementations. I'd warn against using TV until we've figured out a really good way to channel their attention and ideas into positive outcomes.

Video Game Technologies

I mentioned this in our latest forum posts for class, but the thought of video games as a useful tool for students. We always criticize children that have a tendency to just sit in front of a video game screen all day. However, some of the video games we have today are incredibly complex and can be used to teach wonderful things. I am most experienced (though I have not played in a year or so) with World of Warcraft. The systems involved in this game are complex. One has to navigate a world that has a lot of threats to the character and one of the best way is forming alliances with friends and others that play the game. People use a trade system, battle together, and typically use online conferencing technologies to improve such efforts. I wonder if we aren't overlooking one of the more interesting possibilities in teaching when we write off games like this. When one gets to the "end game content", things really get interesting. Players must form groups as large as 40 people (each person with a specific task within the group) as they take on computer generated content. The tasks can range from simple to incredibly difficult and requires the proper coordination, execution, and effort from all 40 group members. They react to new changes in the content and must adapt their play style to how the task is forming in front of them. This kind of interaction could possibly be used for educational purposes, I think, but how we use and direct such technologies would also be important.

Face-to-Face in 21st Century Learning

Hello, one and all. We have been learning a lot about the various, unique tools that come with 21st Century learning. Some of these tools we are familiar with, while others we are not. I cannot deny the advantages of modern technology entering the classroom and I certainly plan to be modern/effective with technology when I get the chance to teach. However, I worry about face-to-face interactions.
         I work with an organization called YoungLife. It involves college volunteers mentoring high school students. Typically, when we are hosting an event I will send out a text in order to let everyone know we are having the event. This mass text, along with facebook invitations, are one of the best ways to get the word out to everyone that we are going to be having the event. They are effective and without them certain people would not come, let alone know that the event is being held. However, on more than one occasion I've encountered high schoolers that feel like a "number" in this process. Why?
       To be frank, they miss and desire the face to face interaction. It means so much more when I hand them a flier and tell them personally that I really want them to be at the event. Texts and facebook are effective resources for relaying information, but they really cannot place the personal touch of in-person communications.
       It is my hope that none of us forget this in the classroom. While we should be utilizing technology and constantly reassessing how we can teach and groom students for a completely new, modernized society... we cannot forget to push them in communications with ourselves and one another. I picture a classroom full of laptops and students typing away and never really having a teacher/mentor look them in the eye and tell them they're doing a good job. I know that is unlikely... but I also think we will forget to think about the importance of quality and quantity face-to-face interactions with students. One of the most valuable skills, along with modern technology use, that they can carry into the future is talking and communicating well with others. We need to go wide without forgetting to go deep.