I watched Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman via the youTube link provided. First of all, please note that 47k people have watched this video and many of the comments were current teachers; this shows the impact of the video's message. This vidoe is ann animated character of old age walking around in a world full of technology that he has never seen before due to his "100 year slumber". In those 100 years, the narrator points out the invention and common use of "strange machines", aka the phone, computer, printer, etc. Then, a stange thing happens; the old character walks into a school and finds no technology. I think this video was uniquely animated and its exaggerated verbage helps convey the lack of technology in schools today.
I do think times are changing and were seeing more and more integrated techonology use in schools; however, the message still rings true: if we let time slip by children will also slip by. That is to say that scjools should be current with the days technology and technological skills happening in the real world to better prepare students. I strongly feel that in order to be an effective educator, up-to-date skills need to be taught and technology used in the classroom. Who knows what our classrooms will see by the time they graduate! Children need to be taught basic skills in not only math, science but also computer, web page design, media production, etc. I think this is essential for survival in the "future" world. Whether this means additional funding, or re-directing funding in the education system, something has got to be done to make this transition to the digital world universal.
I agree with you, Abbie. Its a shame that many schools struggle with funding for something as simple as textbooks. (I know my middle schooler has to share a classroom set) I think that lack of funding is a major hurdle that the school system will have to deal with in order to provide the type of technology required to keep up with today's modern technology.
ReplyDeleteI also agree we need to keep up with technology in our class rooms. I am taking a science class that is using facebook as our comment section its very easy to access and use. I have visited a classroom for elementary students that had easy access to technology, while other classrooms do not even have a computer.I just hope we keep making strides to make our classrooms better.
ReplyDelete