Because of the rapid rate that technology is changing in the 21st century, the field of education is being presented with the monumental task of having to revamp the way schools teach. Students are learning amidst blogs, wikis, websites, and YouTube videos, all of which are bringing collaborative intelligence to the forefront. The development of Web 2.0 tools allows for two-way learning and teaching to take place throughout a typical student’s day (after school hours). As McLoughlin and Lee point out, “the challenge is to enable self-direction, knowledge building, and learner control by offering flexible options for students to engage in learning that is authentic and relevant to their needs and to those of the networked society while still providing necessary structure and scaffolding” (2008).
As McLoughlin and Lee suggested, teachers must sync the curriculum and benchmarks with the many tools available for students today. This will aid in students being better prepared for the future. For example, gone are the days when handwriting was a critical part of the curriculum; now students are using computers for their daily assignments, and handwriting is not of extreme importance. Just because teachers learned something a certain way does not mean that they must continue to teach that way. Students are learning differently and teachers must teach differently. Prensky said, “All the students we teach have something in their lives that’s really engaging—something that they do and that they are good at, something that has an engaging, creative component to it” (2005). Then these students come to school and they are bored out of their minds. Couldn’t teachers incorporate the same software and applications students are using after school hours into their lesson plans? Wouldn’t this make students more eager to be engaged?
Students will need to be critical thinkers and responsible, contributing group members for future tasks they will encounter in life. They will find themselves involved in more cooperative tasks than ever before. The education they receive will need to be tailored to these needs and must incorporate the latest technology. As Prensky stated, students need to feel engaged in learning. Students need to be at the center of their learning.
McLoughlin, C. & Lee, M. (2008). Future learning landscapes: Transforming pedagogy through
social software. Innovate 4 (5). Retrieved from http://www.innovateonline.info
/index.php?view=article&id=539
Prensky, M. (2005). “Engage me or enrage me”: What today’s learners demand. Educause
Review 40 (5) 60-65. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/
ERM0553.pdf
Jaquelyn, you asked, "Couldn’t teachers incorporate the same software and applications students are using after school hours into their lesson plans? Wouldn’t this make students more eager to be engaged?" I say yes! It makes sense to those of us who want to change the business of teaching as usual, and actually, truly engage the students. I think that the problem lies with those who don't truly understand the sort of POSITIVE impact these tools could have education. It seems to me that society and those who police the system want to focus more on all the things that can go WRONG to have an excuse as to why teachers should continue to do things the way some have for eons.
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