Lemke, C. “Innovation Through Technology,” 21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn. (2011) pp. 243 – 269.
When
we talk about integrating technology in education we should start by
understanding why we need to do so. According to Cheryl Lemke’s Innovation Through Technology our
students should be integrating technology into three different areas of
innovation, visualization, democratization of knowledge and participatory
cultures for learning. Every single one of them is important in developing 21st
century skills in our students. Our students need to be engaged and skillful
teachers will be able to create a flow where students will be engaged and
therefore continue their learning in a flow where they will build skills, be
creative and acquire a certain expertise in the area. The use of these
innovations will help the teachers and students create this learning flow.
Students are exposed everyday to visuals and these are organized in our minds
through different channels. Teachers should use technology to capitalize the
power of visualization and should focus on building their visual literacy by
engaging students into thinking critically and creatively about visuals,
including advertisements and media. Students should also be able to communicate
effectively with visuals and to become informed and critical consumers of
information. Along with visualization comes the democratization of knowledge,
where access to information has been available to more and more people
everyday. The access not only to random information but also to innovative
tools and instruction and education in different areas has been made more
accessible to everyone with an Internet connection. This has democratized
knowledge because it is no longer in the hands of those who can afford it but
rather in the hands of whoever is willing to access it. The skill our students
need to develop is to be able to sort out which information is valuable and to
continue that drive for learning new things. With this access to knowledge, our
world no longer works in an individual basis. More and more we are talking of
cooperative and collaborative learning. We are now living in a culture of
participation. Our students no longer observe a class, or just watch a video,
but rather participate and enhance it by collaborating with their peers and
learning in a cooperative environment. The use of technology such as Google docs
and wikis provide our students with the perfect place to work together and
cooperatively produce quality work.
In
Middle School at my school we are motivating our students to collaborate in their
work. Technology such as Google docs has allowed them to be able to work
together with a common goal even if they can’t meet in person. Our projects are
collaborative and cooperative, creating a natural flow for motivation, learning
and sometimes reaching an area of expertise. Some of the challenges we have faced
are having the tools to work cooperatively with technology. However, by
implementing strategies such as the BYOT or BYOD (Bring your own device) we
have been able use the technology that the students feel more comfortable with
and are more successful with. I am sure we will be facing many other challenges
but engaging the students and empowering them to work collaboratively to find
solutions will always surface over any challenge.
Taken from:
I very much agree with you. The world is moving in such big steps that it is imperative we implement the 21st century learning. I think it is very interesting that you say, and I quote, that knowledge “will no longer be in the hands of those who can afford it but rather in the hands of whoever is willing to access it”. I see that as a challenge because it is SO easy for us to have access to information, and therefore knowledge, that students may be more interested in looking for something different rather than a class activity. We don’t use much technology in ECC, but my experience in MS with the BYOD strategy made me doubt about it being a good idea.
ResponderEliminarNow I know it is a good one, but I don’t think this generation is ready. What do you think? I know we need to start with baby steps and start introducing these strategies as soon as possible, and start engaging them.
I agree that we should start with baby steps, and it is great that you are embracing it starting in ECC. I certainly hope that with our guidance as teachers at such a young age we can help them become ready, and become critical about the information they can access on line. The younger they can achieve these skills the better.
EliminarCarolina,
ResponderEliminarI also agree with you. We should know why we are integrating technology before we do it. I think if we push technology without the proper training then the flow will also be pushed on the students and they will be the ones who suffer. Having students who are engaged in their own learning is so much more important than just being able to say we use technology and visualization or media literacy. One of the major steps for me is to make sure that we, the middle school, have the right tools to begin. Our students are flexible and able to adapt. However, we should not rely on that.
Estoy muy de acuerdo con tu reflexión, considero que como docentes tenemos la obligación de aprovechar al máximo el poder de la tecnología, de la construcción de la alfabetización visual e involucrar en este proceso a nuestros estudiantes, potencializando su pensamiento crítico para que logren discernir las implicaciones de los efectos visuales que tienen los medios de comunicación en nuestros días. Comparto contigo la iniciativa de trabajar de manera colaborativa con la tecnología, como herramienta fundamental en el desarrollo de las habilidades digitales, sé que es un reto para la educación y más para los que trabajamos en beneficio de ella, pero también estoy segura que los pasos que hemos dado en el colegio para lograr esta meta han sido muy enriquecedores, ya que nos han permitido la capacitación y sobre todo la oportunidad de involucrarnos con este proceso.
ResponderEliminarBy Google translate
I very much agree with your reflection, I believe that as teachers have an obligation to maximize the power of technology, construction ofliteracy visualand engage in this process to our students and intensify their critical thinking to achieve discern implications of visual effects with media the today. I share with you the initiative to work collaboratively with technology as a key tool in the development of digital skills, I know it's a challenge for education and for those who work for the benefit of it, but I'm sure that the steps we have come to the school to achieve this goal have been very rich, and we have trained and above all the opportunity to be involved with this process.