Students of the 21st century are learning in a much different style then those of generations before us. Now students have access to computers, tablets, smart boards, and so much more in almost every classroom. Information is obtained though textbooks, lectures, videos from YouTube, and activities on smart boards or other educational websites, that make learning appear more exciting to keep children focused.
When i first began school i could always count on paper and pens being on my school supply list but now a days most children don't even need to carry around a textbook. Homework is done online and textbooks can be accessed by a touch of a finger....A perfect example of this type of learning is my cousin Gabby who is now attending 4th grade back in my hometown of Cleveland. Most of her textbooks are supplied for her in the classroom but when it comes time to do homework she never has to carry a book home. All her books are accessible on her kindle and most of her homework is turned in over the internet. All the classrooms in her school are filled with smart boards where they are used to access videos and power points to include as much information as possible into a lecture.
To some degree i think this is super cool and i think she is extremely lucky to be so privileged but at the same time i feel like schools are becoming to dependent on technology. At the fourth grade level students are just beginning to comprehend the rules of the English language and "typing" is not "writing". Technology is growing everyday and i think it is definitely necessary to keep up with the times but i do not believe that it should be the main source of how we learn. There is still going to be glitched in software's and if anything happened in a classroom where a lesson plan is based on all technology usage then the children would be set behind because they would not be able to to access the material.
I found it interesting that now in schools students are learning how to type more than they are learning how to write. I honestly have not considered that. While reading that and processing that it made me think about small schools or under privileged schools that may not have access to teach students how to type as opposed to writing. Would they have different curriculums than other schools. It is just something to think about as our world advances. I also really like the picture that you have included in your blog responses.
ReplyDeleteIt is surprising to me how much technology is used by your cousin; its great but kind of scary. Students should still be learning writing, I mean there isn't always going to be a handy dandy laptop or computer.
ReplyDeleteI think having textbooks available in digital formats is a great idea - instead of being weighed down by tons of books, you could just have them in one place - but I also think students should learn how to write.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to me that such young students are given so much technology. It makes me wonder how much they will expect out of the classrooms by the time they reach high school. They will not be tolerant of learning from books or from teachers; they will always expect the best technology. It makes me nervous that such small children have the ability to use technology like that, especially with such terrible things on the Internet.
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