The first day of EDUC 504 proved to be very interesting! I designed my own blog in a very short time and am now a blogger! Who knew you could learn so much in such a short time? I am looking forward to learning a lot more about the different types of technology I can use in my classroom next year.
The above picture is how my classroom would look if I won the lottery :) I would love for each of my students to have their very own iPad. State of the art technology right at the tip of their fingers. I would also like there to be HD screens at each table and an HD screen at the front of the room. As a scientist, these screens would prove invaluable when looking at slides and trying to differentiate between cells. I also want a top of the line microscope for each student!
A very interesting question was asked in class today-
"How do we teach the 21st century learner?"
Technology! I made it through years of intense schooling by watching youtube videos and reading wikipedia. How does the neural tube form? Youtube can show you in two minutes! How does HIV replicate in your body? Three minutes on youtube and you will know! What is the insertion of the flexor digitorum profundus? A quick ten second google search and wikipedia read later and you know it's the distal phalanges! For me, reading about all of these processes and topics in a textbook was grueling and tiresome but watching an animated video or being able to quickly search for something was a lot easier and saved me a lot of time.
Quick experiment:
Pretend you are a biology student and you have a test tomorrow on HIV replication.
This link is a description of the process in an online textbook.
http://www.learner.org/courses/biology/textbook/hiv/hiv_4.html
The link below is an animated five minute video of the process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO8MP3wMvqg
Which was easier, quicker, and more stimulating?
I look forward to reading your comments below :)
Certainly the youtube video! I have always considered myself to be a visual learner, and this is just further affirmation of that belief. But perhaps sometimes the video would act better as a supplement to a text? As wonderful as videos are, it can be tough for them to get the heart of a particular matter the way that a textbook can. But I also think textbooks are far more useful when they have a visual component (photos, graphs, etc) to them as well. Great post! I look forward to seeing how your thoughts about technology in regards to science develop throughout this course.
ReplyDeleteYour Youtube video vs. textbook example shows that technology in the classroom can be money SAVING, not always some ideal only attainable if you won the lottery. I'd love not to have to buy textbooks anymore :)
ReplyDeleteAs a technology minimalist, your post really made me see the flip side of technology that I hadn't considered. In fact, I realize that I am doing this blogging assignment now because I would rather do that than read my textbook! So technology truly DOES motivate you to work and can help your learning.
However, Jeff had to spend time in class emphasizing that our posts had to meet certain quality criteria. That is, he knew that the blogging format sometimes means decrease in formality. And... after this blog homework, my reading will still be sitting there waiting for me! The blog allowed me to delay it, which is not good :(
So, I still think that the solution lies in making the textbooks more interesting to students (perhaps with the inclusion of graphics and a supplementary video). Also, would the videos be doing the teacher's job?! The teacher should be the one making lessons comprehensible and lively, not YouTube, right?
As for the HD screens, how often would you need super high quality cell differentiation at the level of science your students would be at? Would existing microscopic powers not do the job?
Super interesting post!