Sunday, December 2, 2007
Dr. Yong Zhao's Interview
It appears that there are many challenges facing the American Educational School System and is anyone getting a handle on it? Dr. Zhao indicated in his interview that one of the real problems is that the policy makers of education are not facing these problems. The American School System, according to Dr. Zhao, "Is not looking towards the future but staying in the past and it is time to change directions in the thought process. We are not preparing our students correctly for the future and they should be pushed towards using creativity in thoughts and ideas and not just focus on the mundane subjects of math and science." This is a scary thought that we need to push our students into the digital world so that they can interact on a global level and compete. Have American Educators become complacent in thinking that the U.S. school systems are the best that they can be and we don't need any outside influence in correcting this? Dr. Zhao indicated that we should allow our students to interact on the internet in the school setting and allow them to evolve and not just fit into the everyday mold...is this the right way to go? Do we try to keep them under control for their own sake or is just a way to keep them from becoming so far above our own understanding of technology...good questions and who has the answers? In a way, it scares me to think that I am falling behind in my understanding of the way of the future and perhaps I should not go "kicking and screaming" into the future but embrace the new ways and thoughts of the future. I know that just a couple of years ago, I would have never thought of taking an on-line educational course much less enjoying it...but here I am and it is great!
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3 comments:
After listening to Dr. Zhao it occured to me that there are many educators who are aware of the problems that are presented when changing a whole way of thinking about teaching and learning. It was only a few years ago that I learned the 7 Ways of Knowing. Now we can add digital learning to the list. I suppose when the automobile became available to most people, that many felt the world was changing too fast and were not sure whether or not it would be a good thing either. I guess we just have to approach these technologys with some common sense, but also with an adventurous spirit.
Harriet,
I think you are right that we should increase technology in our classrooms, unfortunately this is expensive. If my students all had laptops I would be able to cut paper handouts down by probably 90%. Also I think the kids would be more interested in assignments because they could be more colorful and interactive on the computer. This is a scary thought though- having to retool my entire year- but I could do it. I don't think we are totally failing our kids right now though; a good foundation of learning and metacognition will easily take our kids into technological careers and beyond.
I agree with all of you that this change is hard. But I also agree with Harriet that we need to embrace this change instead of think of all the reasons it will be difficult (and it will!) It will take all of us to be tech savvy so we are comfortable enough with the tools to find authentic ways for our students to use it. This include at home as well. parent should be told in Kindergarten that a major support tool to their child's education is a home computer with internet access. Schools should use some of their technology $$ to support those who can't afford a computer and some school districts in the country already are. In the meantime, we need to provide kids with an opportunity to use school computers before or after school. With consistent access teachers can begin to create valuable learning experiences that use the technology kids will need to be expertise in by the time they enter the work force. The funny thing is, many of them already are tech savvy but it's like them knowing how to drive a car without knowing may of the road rules. We need to teach both the technology and the digital citizenry in our learning environments so our kids don't crash out there in the real world.
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