Media Technology plays an important role
in teaching because the world is constantly changing and technology plays a
huge role in the change taking place. Students need to learn how to use media
technology in a way that will help them become future professionals in their
chosen careers. Students today are much more inclined to use technology than
any other students before. Media Technology allows for students to have access to
information instantly thus speeding up the research process.
I have witnessed students using media technology
in an effective way. I worked at a
middle school as a tutor and a teacher's assistant. I observed an assignment
that the students did on chrome books. The students did their research on the
chrome books, they would pick quotes and evidence from online articles that
were relevant to their research. Later, in google docs the students would
have to make a summary of the articles they read and explain why the articles
they chose are relevant to their project. This project was assigned in AVID
which is an elective class that encourages students to go to college. The
students where researching colleges and career paths that they are interested
in and making connections between what the universities offered and what is
required for their career path. Periodically the students would share their
progress with their teacher by pressing the "share" button and
tagging Mrs. Williamson's name. This way Mrs. Williamson could monitor their
progress without hovering over them. I really like that it was paperless. I
think it was beneficial to the students that they could share their
progress with the teacher and get feedback from her quickly. They also
learned about what sites where creditable and which were not. For example, they
learned to seek out the universities official site instead of reading whatever Wikipedia
had to say about the university they were researching.
The classroom I worked in also had a Smart Board in the front of the classroom which was helpful because it's like having a giant touch screen monitor where you can pull up images and the write on top of them.
Image can be found at:
Esther, you have a very optimistic view on media technology! Love it. I too am a TA for kids, but rather middle school I do elementary. I really like the use of technology at the school you have worked in, it sounds very efficient and productive. Now that I look back at my own education as a kid to kids now, I wish I had more access to technology and media. Why? Just like you said, we live in a world where it is changing very rapidly, especially in regards to media & technology. I remember feeling ashamed in school for not knowing how to even turn on a computer, because I didn't have access to such thing at home. It took me years to even know how to type properly. Now one has to be knowledge in Excel, Word, etc. in order to fill some job requirements and it is very intimidating for those who lack such knowledge. However, I am happy that the students you work with are getting a head start and learning something that will be crucial in their lives both currently and in the future. I also like how it is even helping them look at colleges. Another great use of technology! To be frank, if computers had not made it so easy for me to apply to colleges, I don't know if I would have pursued on going. Thanks to technology it has made it a lot easier for minorities to get and search for opportunities, in both education and jobs. Like the experiences you mentioned, technology has proven beneficial for both the youth and adults, creating connection(s) between students and teachers, workers and employers.
ReplyDeleteHi Esther! I think you touched on an important aspect of media technology in the classroom that I didn't see before...autonomy! I'm sure the students in your classroom felt like they had more control over their own projects by simply tagging their teacher to request feedback. I didn't realize that media technology can actually build trust between student and teacher in that subtle way. It's an important dynamic that I admittedly overlooked in my experience as a mentor. Sadly, I've heard of smart boards but I had no idea what they are until you explained it in your blog. Having access to chrome books is also an empowering tool since it allows students to learn how to research in a disciplined classroom setting. I think this is where the important distinction can be made between advertising via social media and scholarly research on the internet. With media technology in the classroom, students can learn the difference between the two while developing their own filter for critical thinking. Thanks for the insight!
ReplyDeleteHey Esther, I too have witnessed the greatness of properly used technology in the classroom. It sounds like Ms. Williamson had a great grasp on the capabilities of the technology that she used. I have seen good uses and bad uses. The bad uses of technology were hard to watch, as the students, who were aware that they were not being monitored quickly turned the time into a limitless google search of whatever they could imagine. It became impossible to get the students attention when it came time to bring the class back together as they had all managed to dig themselves into a bottomless hole of content. On the other hand though, when a teacher sets clear expectations of how students are to use the time and is able to monitor this time, technology can be extremely effective, and there is no limit to how far students can go with their research.
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