I watched the videos and completed the readings, and had one of those moments where I said to myself, I want to try that in my classroom. I brainstormed some ideas that I want to try with my students. The article by Sprague and Dede was good in that it gave us two teaching styles, one that most teachers use and another that is the new way of teaching, but also showed us the fears associated with it. Teachers sometimes are concerned about such shift; they worry about losing control, not fulfilling their role, or being seen as less effective by parents, principal, or supervisors (Sprague & Dede, 1999). That is why we are afraid of change. Teaching has undergone very few changes and just in the last twenty years technology has made us look at the style we use to teach. The videos were informative and a bit scary. The Cyborg video got me thinking on how close we might be to living in a Matrix type world and teachers might not be need anymore. I think that constructivist theory is good, but it relies on the past experiences of the students to grasp the information. We have all this technology at their fingertips, but most of my students have never been to the places I teach. They don't understand what is going on in the real world. They know what the harlem shake is, but if I ask them where Harlem is, could they tell me. We have to teach them how to use the technology the right way. It is more than just a social meeting place or a collection of dumb videos. There is content out there to help them learn, we just have to help them use it.
Sprague, D. & Dede, C. (1999). If I teach this way, Am I doing my job: Constructivism in the classroom. Leading and Learning,
27(1). Retrieved from the International Society for Technology in
Education at
http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/280/docs/dede_constructivisim.pdf
Warwirk, K. (nd). Cyborg Life [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB_l7SY_ngI
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