Do you remember when you were in school? If you don’t, then let me refresh your memory. You sat in an uncomfortable seat and pretended you were paying attention to your teacher. Your teacher was the centre of the universe; he or she wanted complete silence so that their distilled wisdom could be poured into your little brain.
You weren’t learning a whole lot! In fact your brain was fried by the end of the lesson. Have things changed? Yes! Well sort of … but there’s hope! A revolution has been taking place inside the schools and the forces of good are fighting to save these kids. Some teachers have taken it upon themselves to make their lessons more interesting. They are using 21st century technology to enhance student learning by making lessons more fun and interactive.
I try to wow my students with technology; to give them something new to see and use. Hopefully, that sparks additional interest in the topic at hand. John Tiffany told Education World
When technology is used in the classroom, the result is that students become active contributors rather than passive receivers. The technology allows students to manipulate information and this “hands-on” work is very effective. Why does it work better than the traditional way you ask? Well it’s less boring for one… but it also applies Bloom’s Taxonomy. I’ll spare you the science, just understand that research has shown that students learn the most when they’re analyzing, evaluating and creating information. Listening to the teacher and just remembering facts is ineffective (hence at the bottom of the pyramid).
The Holdrege School Board in Nebraska is a typical example of this technological revolution. All students have their own laptops and can access the teacher’s power point slides. They join an online forum to discuss the lesson and are asked to answer questions on the forums. They can’t see anyone else’s answers until they post theirs, so they must apply critical thinking skills. The teacher is also able to track the progress of all students and make student specific comments to help students along.
Isn’t it wonderful?
Your posts are so witty, with a sense of humor in them! I like how you capture the advantage of using tech in class spot on….passive vs active learners! Nice to know that some schools are integrating tech in their classrooms …IMO this makes the environment so much more engaging and subject matter enlightening 🙂 Great work, great post!
P.S Really digging the pic of the stereotypical ‘boring’ teacher 😉
Anyone?….Anyone?….