Michael's videos are an eye opening, big dose of the reality of technology and it's relation to our education. Technology in education has changed so much, even from just 5 years ago, and his work shows just how major the impact is.
"The machine is using us", rather better said, the machine is us. For me, honestly, I hadn't been exposed to technology like this before this program. I'm not sure I would have ever used a Wiki or RSS feed before making the decision to continue with my education. I can't stress enough about utilizing technology in education, especially for our youth, whom may not have otherwise been exposed. I felt the video was definitely meaningful and proved the valuable point...we ARE the machine.
While watching the video "Vision of students", I could relate to most of the students. Really...what would the walls say if they could talk??? All of the many technologies we use in the hours of the day, why are we still sitting in a classroom looking at a chalkboard. Where is the use of technology in our education? Why aren't we making the effort in every opportunity to incorporate technology in learning? As a trainer, the reason is ALWAYS $$$...but I think education should be considered an investment, not an added expense.
Wow, his class sounds amazing. I love the way they run their platform. Loosely structured, yet the purpose is strictly defined. Example, the research schedule where student has flexibility to edit the syllabus. I like the idea of incorporating blogs to track student progress in their own research. For my future in education, Michael's seminar has definitely made me think...my learning experience should be more about sharing and creating, not just academics or grading.
A group I was a part of in a previous class at App gave had an idea of the future of technology in education...I thought I would share...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcDRORXW9kI
I just sent the group a link to the founder of the khanacademy talking about why his online videos seem to work, even though they are simple. One of the issues was that you can fast-forward, pause, review, etc... things that you just can't or don't do in a public class. There's too much pressure to act like you're clued in, or to not embarrass yourself, or to not mess with the class flow.
ReplyDeleteWhen self paced and involved, there's much more flexibility, but that also requires a lot more discipline, or desire! I have also found that you need a critical mass to accomplish group motivated work. Without it, it ends up being just a pain for the instructor as a few students wait for the right stick to come out.