Read one of the professional articles (on right in Professional Reading channel) and briefly share your thoughts and ideas about how the information might impact teaching/learning in your classroom.
I read "Do They Really Think Differently", by Marc Prensky. I found it very interesting to learn that the brain actually changes depending on what we learn. However, I disagree with his premise: yes, the students are not paying close attention to class, because it is something that does not interest them, unlike video games; but in the past, the kids didn't pay attention either-I remember myself in school complaining, and my mother telling me how her sister hated school. However, no one catered to them: they had to learn the way the teachers were teaching-and they/we learned. I agree, of course, that is better to find new ways to keep students interested and learn more eagerly, but I don't think that the solution is to change the system to accomodate their tastes.
I also read "Do They Really Think Differently", by Marc Prensky. I had recently seen an episode of Scientific American Frontier on PBS that explored recent research on neuroplasticity. It is absolutely fascinating that different parts of the brain can "reprogram" itself to take on new tasks! This is constantly occuring in all of us. I can certainly see the value of using computer/video game technology to teach. When I was an undergraduate in communications (in 1995)I took a technology in education class where I designed on paper a computer game/simulation that taught students history by allowing them to really delve in and explore an episode in history in a "choose your own adventure format" stlye game. I defnitely think that well-designed computer "games" or "simulations" definitely have a place in modern education. Prensky mentions that the ability for reflection is being affected in "Digital Natives." This greatly concerns me as a teacher of science. It is true that I am finding my students less able to draw conclusions and connect the results of an experiment or experience to the larger concept. They do sometimes seem to lack the ability to generalize. As a result I find myself trying to find new ways to bring these skills into my teaching.
2 comments:
I read "Do They Really Think Differently", by Marc Prensky. I found it very interesting to learn that the brain actually changes depending on what we learn. However, I disagree with his premise: yes, the students are not paying close attention to class, because it is something that does not interest them, unlike video games; but in the past, the kids didn't pay attention either-I remember myself in school complaining, and my mother telling me how her sister hated school. However, no one catered to them: they had to learn the way the teachers were teaching-and they/we learned.
I agree, of course, that is better to find new ways to keep students interested and learn more eagerly, but I don't think that the solution is to change the system to accomodate their tastes.
I also read "Do They Really Think Differently", by Marc Prensky. I had recently seen an episode of Scientific American Frontier on PBS that explored recent research on neuroplasticity. It is absolutely fascinating that different parts of the brain can "reprogram" itself to take on new tasks! This is constantly occuring in all of us.
I can certainly see the value of using computer/video game technology to teach. When I was an undergraduate in communications (in 1995)I took a technology in education class where I designed on paper a computer game/simulation that taught students history by allowing them to really delve in and explore an episode in history in a "choose your own adventure format" stlye game. I defnitely think that well-designed computer "games" or "simulations" definitely have a place in modern education.
Prensky mentions that the ability for reflection is being affected in "Digital Natives." This greatly concerns me as a teacher of science. It is true that I am finding my students less able to draw conclusions and connect the results of an experiment or experience to the larger concept. They do sometimes seem to lack the ability to generalize. As a result I find myself trying to find new ways to bring these skills into my teaching.
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