Post 1: John T. Spencer’s post was titled “An Idea for the Next ISTE Conference”. In it he mentioned his idea of having no technological gadgets allowed. It would be a “digital detox”. There would be books, games, music on the acoustic guitar, and much more.
Comment 1: I started by introducing myself. I mentioned that it is very true how much people rely on their gadgets. I thought the idea of a “digital detox” was very interesting. It seems to be a good idea to have one day to get away from it all. I also mentioned that technology has helped us accomplish a lot, but there are still other ways to learn, communicate, and have fun.
Post 2: John T. Spencer’s post was about why teachers are so reluctant to start tech integration. He believes that it is due to the fact that they are afraid to fail. He found that it is not a matter of teachers not understanding the technology. Teachers would be excited and willing to make the change if they weren’t afraid of failure.
Comment 2: I told him that he made a valid point. I mentioned that even as a student we already know about teaching by certain standards and standardized tests. Teachers are judged by the scores that their students make, so they are afraid to try new ideas. This make tech integration risky and teachers are less likely to attempt it.
Although I am not doing it this semester, I have been using an assignment to try to go 24 hours without using any "modern" technology. Last semester 80% of the students in EDM310 failed in 3 three attempts (or did not even try saying they knew they could not do it). You might want to try it. Here are the instructions I used last semester:
ReplyDeleteBlog Post 13 Due 4/29
This assignment is a very different activity which is adapted from an unknown teacher cited by Andrew Postman in the introduction to the 20th Anniversary Edition of Neil Postman's (Andrew's father) Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.
Engage in an E-Media Fast
Here is how this assignment works:
Do not use any electronic (powered by electricity or batteries) entertainment or communications device (except a land line telephone or in the course of your employment) for 24 consecutive hours. If you break this activity by using a banned device, you must start the activity over again. After the third attempt (or a successful conclusion, whichever comes first), write a post in which you describe the outcome of the activity; discuss its difficulty for you; specifically identify what made the activity difficult (or easy); discuss the help (or interference) by others and identify those others and their relationship to you; reflect on what you learned about the media and about yourself as a result of the exercise. Finally, reflect on what your students will be like when they arrive in your classroom after living lives filled with media and no "e-media fasts." Be sure to follow the requirements in Writing A Quality Blog Post.
What is banned:
Any use of television, video records or players
Computers, tablets, notepads or similar devices
Video cameras, audio recorders or equipment, radios, iPods, iPads, iPhones (or any cell phone), Telephones other than land line telephones
You may go to a movie in a movie theatre, participate in personal conversations, read one or more books, attend a lecture in person. No FaceBook however for 24 hours. Can you do it?
If you have any question as to whether you can do or use something, make a decision and report that decision - and your reasoning for reaching the conclusion you did - in your post.
You can read some of the reactions in the Blog Post #13 posts from last semester.
"Teachers are judged by the scores that their students make, so they are afraid to try new ideas. This make tech integration risky and teachers are less likely to attempt it. " Teachers are judged on a lot more than the scores of their students! Teaching observations, being on time, acting like a professional, participating to collaborative assignments, working with parents, personality, attitude, preparation and much more play an important role in whether a teacher is kept (at least for the first 3 years - after that nothing much matters (unfortunately). I think that the failure to use technology is, instead, the convenience of doing it the "way I was taught."
Hi Dr. Strange. I attempted the assignment that you suggested. Unfortunately, I did not succeed. It made me realize exactly how much I rely on my "modern" technology.
ReplyDeleteI use my cell phone not only to communicate(talk,text,email, facebook, twitter), but it is my alarm clock and a form of entertainment as well. I also have to watch T.V. to fall asleep at night. Also, being a student in EDM 310 made this task quite difficult as well. I felt like there was always something that I needed to be doing for the class.
I would have never thought that going 24 hours without any "modern" technology would be so difficult. I never realized how reliant I am on my gadgets.
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