With our society constantly changing, I often find myself wondering how difficult will it be for people to continue making a living. Take the post office for example. Because of the advances that we have made in terms of delivering mail, todays mail man as we know him(or her) seems to fading out. As we begin to educate ourselves more and more by networking, one has to wonder about the future of having a teacher actually in the classroom. Of course, this video did make a good point when it stated that someone has to be responsible for actually correcting the students even if they are educating themselves through networking. The message here seems to be that as a teacher, you must prepare yourself for this type of change.
A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment
What I have learned from watching this video is that a 7th grade student's learning environment is very much similar to the one that I learn in today. I can remember what the learning environment was like for me as a 7th grader some 20 years ago and I must say, I never would have imagined how much technology has effected the way we learn. Some twenty years down the road, today's 7th graders will probably be thinking the same thing that I am thinking today. One thing that you can probably be sure of is the fact that more changes are on the way in regards to what the learning environment is like today. It is for this reason that we must continue to educate ourselves on current technology.
The Machine is Changing Us by Michael Wesch
This was a video that I really enjoyed watching. For those of you who grew up watching TV shows in the 80's you can relate to what I'm about to say. TV shows in the 80's always seemed to have some sort of theme behind them with a lot less commercials than the ones that are on TV today. When watching a TV show today, it is difficult to leave the the TV set just to get a drink of water because if you do, you are subject to miss something and it becomes difficult to follow the show you are watching. As a young boy growing up, I enjoyed watching wrestling. Today, you could not get me to watch 15 minutes of it because to how different it is portrayed. I also am not a fan of reality TV shows. You Tube is very intersting to me because it seems to be a great tool that teachers can use in the classroom. Students who do projects in say Australia can be viewed by students around the world. In this instance, we can gain prospective on how other students view various topics.
Also, a teacher is needed to guide the student in what is correct and incorrect information. You and I both know that not all information found on the internet (or even most of it) is correct. A teacher of some kind will always be needed to help students wade through all of that (mis)information.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, today's society is changing. And, as teachers/mentors we can't really say if our society is changing for the better or for the worse. I think all we can do is accept the change and merge with the new society so that we can reach and understand the kids we are teaching. Not only just understand them, but help them become functioning members of new society.
ReplyDeleteChange your picture to small. Make them relevant to your post where possible.
ReplyDeleteSo now you are beginning to understand why people will have so many different jobs over their lifetime.
How is your PLN coming along?
Watch for my post on The Machine Is Changing Us which is coming soon to the class blog.