I was fascinated with this video, I would have loved to see more of it. I was surprised to find that one of the girl in the photo class was someone I know. She is now going to the university.
Anyway, there were several things in the video about the Denali school that really addressed the concerns we brought up in the class brainstorming activity. One of the fears was that there would be problems with the social interaction with the students in the class. However, the photo class in the video proved that the social aspect was still there it simply took on a different form. I do think that to make this socialization possible the class has to be set up in a way to encourage it. So instance, there was a lot of talking and moving around. The teacher really needs to have a different mind set.
The other thing that we talked about with fears, was if the teacher would still be able to get the students' attention. The teachers on the video gave several different ideas on how to go about getting the attention of the students. On way is to give an announcement and than letting them have a few minutes to chat and get some of the excitement out. Letting the students unload their gear and work their way to their seats is done in most classrooms anyway. Another idea in the video was to tell the students to close the laptops when they would not using them. I think this is a great solution, I have even had college teachers who would use this strategy, it is quite affective.
The last thought I wanted to bring up was a hope when we talked but the video gave us cause to worry. In the brainstorming we talked about how we hope that each child having a computer would lead them to learn more computer skills. The students did learn more about how to use a computer and what it could do, but at what cost? The video raised the issue of handwriting. I had not thought about this skill much, but it is a valid concern. With the students and teachers communicating and going assignment on the computer, there will be less reason to handwrite anything. This issue is important and one that should not be overlooked.
I found this video interesting and thought provoking.
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1 comment:
Hey Tori, I'm doing good. I'd remember you from a previous class a while back. I'm doing good, enjoying school and living here. I agree with your comment of teachers allowing students to have a few minutes to chat on the computers to get it out of the way. I like this idea and if I was in their situation, I'd like to try this out. Good comments and thoughts. See you in class! Janet
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