Friday, November 19, 2010
Adapt or Die
As technology more and more becomes a part of our lives there is an increase in its prevalence within the classroom. Cell phones, MP3 players and laptops are all becoming part of the student arsenal for daily communications. While students adopt these technologies many teachers/lectures are still relying on "tried and tested" modes of teaching and may resist change on the premise that the bulk of the learning challenges resides with learners. At high school level there has been numerous reports on restriction of cellphone use during class time and within classes. We are probably all aware of the nuisance that a ringing cellphone might be during meetings etc. Nowadays, it appears that more laptops are finding its way into the classroom perhaps to the annoyance of teachers. The reality is that these technologies are here to stay and so as educators the onus is on us to "Adapt or Die".
Yes, to some extent it might be an intrusion but it is a necessary one that we have to live with if we are to encourage the integration or infusion of technology into teaching and learning. Traditionally, the non-verbal feedback received from students, such as eye-contact, nodding etc would be some indication that students are on the same page as the lecturer or teacher. Whether these cues are accurate are debatable but perhaps it is comforting for the lecturer. With students bringing laptops into the classroom it might be that lecturers need to look for other cues. Perhaps this trend will subtly, or forcefully, move lecturers to look at alternative modes of teaching. Perhaps new ways of ensuring that students are engaged during the lecture and finding new cues. While searching for images I came across the following forum on the use of laptops in the classroom. Hope you find it interesting. http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=988356
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As technology more and more becomes a part of our lives there is an increase in its prevalence within the classroom. Cell phones, MP3 player...
Have to agree with you that lecturers do stress the point that students have to please put off their laptops or cellphones as they feel that it interferes with the lecture.
ReplyDeleteThere are times when many a student uses their laptops for the purpose of the lecture as lecturers upload lecture slides onto the internet.
Yet, there are times many students go onto any, and every site besides those sites compiled for their studies.
Don't see the implementation of laptops and cellphones in lectures in the current day and age as doable, not only because it interferes with lectures, but plenty of students do not have access to savvy cellphones or own a laptop.
Thanks Mr A.D. this is indeed challenging reality because this gadgets have become part of our culture and indeed the are here to stay as they really makes our lives very simple. But what is challenging is that some lectures/teachers driving with a very low gear and despite the fact that we are leaving in a world where images & ideas are traveling thousands miles within a seconds.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, these gadgets students used them for both good and bad, as at some point one might leave the class without even having heard a word of the days lecture because he/she was busy on mix it,tweeter, face-book, to go badoo and many other entertainment pages either on cell-phones or Laptops and this access to all this gadgets by students make them to want to explore even more, while teachers or lectures will be only know very few things on their cell-phones calling & SMS or using only few search engine on internet & mail used for internet messaging & few research purposes.
So indeed this course destruction, image in Psychology class student opening their laptops while the course has nothing to do with computer that becomes a sign to lecture that "I am not interested to what you are doing" or i am bored"
But in some cases you may understand!!!!!! This is still challenging because the fact that we are so used to this gadgets, even in the exam rooms when we are told to switch them off "cell-phone" we rather put them on silence but at some Universities like UKZN they become so strict that if a student comes to exam room with a cell-phone in their pockets when the invigilators see you the students gets disqualified for the paper. Because they are not allowed to bring them in the exam hall.
But why????????????????
In some