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This blog is about how my skepticisms toward a web 2.0 class offered at my school transformed into an extreme interest in the class and gaining my own personal learning network (PLN)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

One Thought: A High School Student's Perspective on Education and Technology

The current technological revolution is altering the way society functions as a whole. Developments in technology have shifted fundamental characteristics of society like transportation, architecture, communication, and education. People no longer travel by foot and by animal, but instead they travel by automobiles and by airplanes. People no longer use caves and mud houses as shelter, but instead they use skyscrapers and quaint suburban homes. People no longer communicate through smoke signals and handwritten letters, but instead they communicate with telephones and the internet. Yet, education has not accompanied these other fundamentals of society as they have progressed into the age of technology. Students are still educated in classrooms with rows of desks while a teacher relays information to them on the subject matter for the student to absorb, so they can spit it back on a test. With the societal shift to an age of technology, the structure of the education system should progress along with the other aspects of society.

In a recent survey, corporations produced a list of four features that they want their employees to possess: the ability to think critically, the ability to communicate effectively, the ability to collaborate with others, and the ability to be creative. The expectation that people are able to retain information for a test is not practical in the modern workforce. This is not to say that the information being taught is worthless, but the current manner of teaching and learning this valuable information is archaic and ineffective for students in the modern world.

The current structure of the education system worked tremendously during an age when populations were educated for a short period and then placed into the mines, factories, and various other blue-collar work environments. The workforce has evolved into a modern workforce that requires a new set of service oriented and technology-based skills. The growth of the internet and the development of technological devices such as laptops, tablets, and smart phones have created these new set of skills that students will need to possess as they enter the modern workforce. Educators need to accept that this change is happening, so that they can adequately prepare their students for the twenty-first century work environment.

Apple Corporation published a recent statistic that sixty percent of their revenue comes from products that did not exist three years ago. Progression in society used to take decades or sometimes centuries to come to fruition; however, today’s society is changing more quickly. The fact that the majority of Apple Corporation’s products were not in existence three years ago demonstrates how quickly people need to adapt to these new technologies. Educators need to educate themselves in the appropriate use of these technologies that will best aide their student’s in their education and their future endeavors.

The typical classroom consists of four walls encompassing students, desks that were designed a century ago, environmentally unfriendly textbooks, a pulpit for the teacher to speak from, a board with notes scribbled on for students to copy verbatim, and an expert in some subject spitting information at their students as they quickly write what the teacher says in their notebook. Does this mundane and conventional system work? Yes, classrooms structured in that fashion have worked for centuries. Then why would society want to change something that works? Just because a system works well does not mean it cannot be improved. Access to the plethora of information, resources, tools, people, and ideas that exist in the online community enhances the classroom experience. The answer is not to decimate the physical classroom and go completely online. The online community will never replace entirely the conventional classroom. The online community, however, needs to be incorporated into the classroom properly, so that students can render the highest potential of their academic learning experience.

Human ingenuity has significantly facilitated the progression of society; however, this progression does not come to society without any repercussions. In the film, Inherit the Wind, the lawyer who is defending the teaching of evolution in schools says, “Progress has never been a bargain; you have to pay for it.” Teachers have always been seen as the expert of the subject matter that they are teaching, and their job has been to teach their students the set curriculum. If society moves away from the conventional classroom to a classroom integrated with technology, the role of the teacher will expand. Not only will teachers be able to teach their students the lesson plan, they also will have to mentor their students as they enter into the vast online community. Students will now have access to an infinite amount of resources online, but not all of them are appropriate for academic purposes. There is an unlimited number of websites available to students for positive academic, social, and networking purposes, but there are also websites that could be potentially harmful to the wellbeing of students.

However, these consequences can be curtailed. Once society integrates the conventional classroom with technology, educators will have the responsibility to teach their students the application and importance of appropriate and acceptable technology use. Students must learn how to become digital citizens, members of the online community who act responsibly while using the internet. Social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are popular among students today, but inappropriate language, images, and comments plague these sites frequently. The reason that the aforementioned behavior exists is not that these sites invite such incongruous behaviors. The reason is that adults condemn these sites, forcing their children to learn how to use these sites unguided, or adults treat these sites as “no big deal” or “just a fad,” which also forces children to learn how to use the sites unguided. Teachers need to educate students on the proper use of the tools and websites on the internet, so that students can use the internet correctly and safely.

Society has shifted from one based on blue-collar labor to a fast paced, technology-based society that demands certain skills like collaboration, effective communication, critical thinking, and creativity. In addition, the future workplace will require its employees to be educated in the applicable use of continually changing technology. The current education system is only somewhat effective in helping students achieve this height; however, for students to reach their highest potential, the current structure of the education system needs to adapt properly to changes in society and technology. This age of technology will alter the current learning environment by allowing students to communicate with their peers and additional educators across the globe, by allowing students to achieve their highest potential through the exploration of all aspects of academia, and by allowing students to experience the vast academic, social, and networking opportunities offered by the online community.

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