I think the web and Internet will have an impact in all three areas: K-12 education, higher education, and adult education.
In grades K-12 I do not think that the Internet or Web will ever take the place of the teacher completely. I don't think students will all stay home and learn from their computers the way we are doing now. Students will always go to school and interact in person with peers and teachers. I believe this is fundamental to bringing children up socially. I think teachers will use the Internet for drill practice (as stated in the book), for research, and for typing/computer skills. I do all three of these in Third Grade with my students. Although, this is not done daily. My students research about once a week using the Internet. I think this could eventually be changed to students researching more often. I'm assuming at the middle school and high school levels research is done more often and taught using the Internet as well as other resources. I also think that wikis, blogs, and other programs will be used more and more as time goes. I don't' think this is going to happen over the course of only a couple years though. Until this class I have never had to create a blog or wiki. If the teachers don't know how to do these things then they are not going to use them to teach with.
This class is an example of how higher education will be changed. We don't even have to go to campus once all semester for this class. I know many, many people from teachers to nurses to business majors who take online classes for their masters. I love this type of learning. Students are able to work from different locations and when they want to work. I also think the Blackboard system works so well. I was nervous at first it would be confusing, but it really isn't.
I think that adult education will be changed a lot due to the Internet and Web. Adults will like the opportunity to do more at home or at their own pace. The Internet allows for this more. Workforces can train people easier using online programs. They can have the whole office take online tests and have their grades sent in automatically. I really do think that the Internet will be used heavily in education, but I don't think it will ever take over completely.
Computers can be used for so much more than just research and word processing. The links to NASA for instructional material for science, to authors websites for books releases and back ground. The CAD modeling programs for drafting and design. I could just go on and on.
ReplyDeleteAny computer training you can provide your students will be appreciated by teachers later on. I've been surprised about how little my students know about Web browsing and using Windows when we go to the computer lab. They sure know how to text message though. Have you thought about leading a workshop at your school to introduce teachers to blogs and wikis?
ReplyDeleteI wish that school districts would collaborate more on a grade-by-grade technology curriculum. I agree that I don't know how the internet is being used in secondary classrooms as an elementary teacher. It sounds like, Justin, that elementary teachers are assuming students will get all of their skills on their own or in middle & high school. It would be nice to know what skills secondary teachers would like their students to have, so that elementary teachers make more of an effort to incorporate them into computer lessons.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Kelly's comment: On a very basic level, I am surprised by high school students' inability to organize files on their student drive. I have even had to teach them how to create a new directory (folder), so they have separate folders for English, Math, CAD, etc... Then I usually need to explain about naming files, so it isn't just "asdfjkl.doc", and then they wonder which file it is that they need, wasting time opening poorly named document after poorly named document. As Justin mentioned, knowing how to browse the Internet for good, reputable content seems to be difficult for some students. Understanding the difference between save and save as, I think is pretty basic, yet unknown to some students. I don't do much with office applications, but I do have students write a resume, and I usually have to teach them about indents and tabs, or else the formatting looks very unprofessional.... just to name a few things.
ReplyDeleteAs for Jenna's post: I agree that there is a social aspect to K-12 education that needs to remain intact. However, I think that the Internet can be used to really capture the minds of digital learners. This generation seems to process their thoughts and learning more effectively using technology, and are seemingly more engaged in audio/visual/hands-on content than in the traditional textbook reading, worksheet completing, teacher talking methods.
I agree with you that we are seeing how the upper level grades will change with use of the internet. I think the rest of the comments, are great--we do need to take a look at what we should be covering at each level in regards to using the computer and the internet. There are a lot of things to cover and we should work on setting guide lines for each level to be sure we are going in the right direction to guide our students.
ReplyDeleteMargie