As I read
through the resources for this week, I immediately thought about my students
and how they complete assignments in my class. I have a computer class that
works with a program called Classworks. The program is designed for students to
practice on math and language arts skills with below, on level, and above grade
level work. The students often sit in front of their computer and try to find
ways to get around "working out the problem". We are living in a
generation that expects everything to be right there in front of us. In the
article How Google Impacts The Way Students Think it states, "When
your formative years are spent working your fingers through apps and iPads,
smartphones and YouTube, the digital world and its habits can bend and shape
not just how you access information, but how you conceptualize it entirely. You
see information differently–something that’s always accessible”. We don't
want to take the time to really research our problems/assignments. I use the
word "We" because I put myself in this category too. Technology has
made our lives better, but in some ways it has hindered us. I truly believe
that students lack in basic research skills. I have read many articles about
the importance of building the reputation of the library. The library used to
be viewed as the only place to really conduct research, but since advancements
in technology have come, the library has now become almost an afterthought. I
believe that this is where the library can regain some momentum and stress the
importance of true research. Teachers have such a huge responsibility teaching
the standards given to them each year. If the Media Specialist and teacher
could team together, they could have the content and research skills taught in
order to develop the lack of skills that their students have. I believe that it
is importance to enforce these skills as early as Elementary School. This idea
is somewhat presented in the article, How Teens Do Research in the
Digital World. In this article it states, "the vast majority of
these teachers say a top priority in today’s classrooms should be teaching
students how to “judge the quality of online information.” Students need
to have a foundation of basic research in order to develop strong research
skills in later years. It is often easier to just "google it", but
the possibilities are endless if we lead them in the right direction.
Krista, I agree we live in a generation that expects everything to be right in front of us. I experience the same thing with my students which is why I feel we struggle with analytical skills and so forth. For the past week our Chromebooks were taken for end of the year protocol. My students were making a card for a colleague and had to use the old fashioned dictionary to research. We've been using our table of contents and index for reference skills practice. Google has spoiled our babies .
ReplyDeleteKrista, I completely agree with your statement that "Technology has made our lives better, but in some ways it has hindered us." I teach in a school with a BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) policy, so almost every student brings a cell phone or tablet to school on a daily basis. I try to incorporate technology into my classroom on an almost daily basis, and, a lot of the time, this means students use their cell phones. I have found that, more often than not, students are on task. However, cell phones are a HUGE distraction for others. On days when we are doing work that requires time alone at the desk, I allow my students to listen to music. Sometimes, however, that privilege is revoked because they simply cannot help but check their social media. I am one of the only teachers in my school consistently using technology, and I am surrounded by naysayers. I am hoping this program will help us all to help our students find the balance. I want to help students understand how to effectively use the resources that they have available to them. We definitely need better digital citizens in our world.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, I don't see this as much because of my students' ages, however I do see how technology will negatively impact them later on. Anytime anyone isn't a 100% sure of something they are quick to suggest Google instead of using the books in the room. I still have students who don't understand how to use the table of contents. Thankfully they've learned how to use a dictionary and text features to understand what they're reading, but that took the entire year.
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