Digital natives are very common in our society. They are borned and bred in the digital age and are able to use technology without much difficulties. It would not be exaggerated to say that they can't survive without computers, mp3 and cell phones. In Prensky's article, he stresses that the digital natives have different cognitive strucures. They think differently from the adults and their cognitive structures are parallel and not sequential. The digital natives are good in reading visual images, have good spatial skills, have inductive discovery and can give attention to many things at one go. They also response faster to expected and unexpected stimuli. However, the digital natives may not be able to have the time and space to self reflect and they just choose to be interested in the things they like.
I have selected the portrait of Dylan. http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-dylan-video. He uses technology to improve his community and the world through collboration with youths of other countries to develop a ThinkQuest website and Green Your Lives Initiative. He also uses technology to learn his alphabets when he was young. He had this to say "Without technology, I might not know my alphabets". Therefore, technology is integrated and central to his life. In terms of digital background, it is very similar to Singapore student. More and more Singapore students know how to use technological skills effortlessly. Many Singapore students are able to create websites for academic and leisure purposes and animated videos. For example, some Singapore students had also form collaboration groups with their classmates to develop ThinkQuest website to explore subject matters like history.
Teachers in Singapore today need to be able to integrate technology in the curriculum to teach the digital natives. It is essential to integrate ICT as they are exposed to technology since young. It serves to engage them and make them more interested in learning the subject matter and content. Asking them to just sit in their desk and listen to the teacher lecture is unable to gain their interest in learning. Teachers can exploit technology to engage them in authentic tasks and making them an active learner rather than a passive learner.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
E Learning 2
Part A:
1. What are some characteristics of digital natives?
(Done before reading article as per instructed)
Digital natives are flexibles and able to adapt to changing environment fast. This might be due to their upbringing and brain development. Upbringing in my opinion is the most impotant attribute that could determine the later part of their life as it is that time where children's motor skills, thinking skills...etc starts to develop.
Digital natives are relatively impatient lot of people. They are very task orietated and result orientated... Similar to those games they have adapted to. This is good as an employee but is bad in family setup cos events or expectation in family only happen after a period of time... and involve love and patient which sometimes games (virtual world) is lacking in.
2. Which portrait did you select? (In your blog, create a link to the portrait.) In terms of their digital background, how similar was that student compared to a Singapore student?
Selected:
Cameron's Portrait : http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-cameron-video#
Singapore student are not as "technological advance" when compare to Cameron. I believe Cameron is exception from his cohoots and don't think that majority of the students in US does what Cameron is doing.
Singapore studenst I am sure a small percentage of them can be comparable as Cameron... only with the luxury of finacial support from various parties and the right environment. I am glad that our education system is evolving fast and ICT will soon be integrated into the education system although now is still at its infant stage.
3. How might teachers in Singapore today engage and teach our digital natives?
Teacher has to adjust themselves and be ready to accept any critics/teaching from students while they are teaching... cos information are very fluid and fast changing which sometimes may be out of pace for most of us.
School facilities has to be updated and teachers has to be trained on how to use those facilitities. Peers (teachers) sharing session is important so as to keep the teachers up to date and teach each other on more difficult topics.
Student teacher or the existing teacher will need to constantly update themselves with the most current subject content and also to constantly keep themselves relevant to the changing environment.
1. What are some characteristics of digital natives?
(Done before reading article as per instructed)
Digital natives are flexibles and able to adapt to changing environment fast. This might be due to their upbringing and brain development. Upbringing in my opinion is the most impotant attribute that could determine the later part of their life as it is that time where children's motor skills, thinking skills...etc starts to develop.
Digital natives are relatively impatient lot of people. They are very task orietated and result orientated... Similar to those games they have adapted to. This is good as an employee but is bad in family setup cos events or expectation in family only happen after a period of time... and involve love and patient which sometimes games (virtual world) is lacking in.
2. Which portrait did you select? (In your blog, create a link to the portrait.) In terms of their digital background, how similar was that student compared to a Singapore student?
Selected:
Cameron's Portrait : http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-cameron-video#
Singapore student are not as "technological advance" when compare to Cameron. I believe Cameron is exception from his cohoots and don't think that majority of the students in US does what Cameron is doing.
Singapore studenst I am sure a small percentage of them can be comparable as Cameron... only with the luxury of finacial support from various parties and the right environment. I am glad that our education system is evolving fast and ICT will soon be integrated into the education system although now is still at its infant stage.
3. How might teachers in Singapore today engage and teach our digital natives?
Teacher has to adjust themselves and be ready to accept any critics/teaching from students while they are teaching... cos information are very fluid and fast changing which sometimes may be out of pace for most of us.
School facilities has to be updated and teachers has to be trained on how to use those facilitities. Peers (teachers) sharing session is important so as to keep the teachers up to date and teach each other on more difficult topics.
Part B:
1. As you look into the possible future of the educational landscape, what sort of impressions, fears, or possibilities crossed your mind?
Future education will have virtual classroom. Lots of calloborative learning with peers and teachers will take up mentoring role. Students might design their own learning and pace themselves towards their goal. I will see more early specialising of subject areas as the students will deem certian subjects has got not "financial value"!
Beside virtual environment where they can make all the mistakes that they could afford, the real environment will also be part of their education venue. Student will be assigned for attachement earlier if speciallisation is adopted.
What fear crossed my mine? I think in general our job will be at stake! Teacher's position will be greatly reduced. You simply don't need them anymore. Anyway, I am prepared for this.... as this is my 2nd career and had previously worked for 2 organisations within a short period of 7years, I forseen that this will be the future (there will not be any life-long career anymore! Forget civil servant). We need to find a nichee and start to think and prepare for the day to come, and I believe my third career in 10years time will emerge... we just need to size the opportunity when the window is open! This will also be the student future job environment.
2. What might living, learning and working be like in the future?
As per mentioned, living environment will be much more comfortable = LAZY people will be created! All we expect is fast and efficient with a push of button! BUT ARE WE READY FOR IT? What is required in a company point of view to deliver all these? (be it a service or product) Are the future generation of workers ready for it?
In a fast paced environment, a product life cycle is getting shorter and shorter (think of your h/p, computer and TV), it is happening right now! When a product life cycle goes short from 2-3years (a decade ago) to 1year/half a year now, means workers need to work much harder to cope with the changes and to deliver it to the consumer's hand.
Similar to learning, student are expected to solve a problem faster and the only way is to capitalise on calloboration and with the help of ICT.
OR can society revert back to basic? Can we go without H/P? I really cant! I can 10 years ago but not now!
How is NIE preparing you to prepare your students for this possible future? How might you prepare yourself?
Student teacher or the existing teacher will need to constantly update themselves with the most current subject content and also to constantly keep themselves relevant to the changing environment.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Civilisation - Singapore edition for schools?
A thought just flashed through my mind, while i was reading my communication studies package. Yes regardless of the lack of cohesion and relatedness, it just flashed through my cognitive process (or lack thereof).
A great idea for a history game! CIVILISATION - SINGAPORE EDITION!!
I remember playing Civilisation , Civilisation I, and II? back in the 90s and boy was it addictive. During the course of gameplay however, as you get carried away with looking for resources and mining for supplies, you actually get snippets of technological advancements, historical moments, building the Wonders of The World to improve your score and 'status'.
Can we perhaps in the future see a Singapore edition? Although this will not be a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Real Playing Game) Game play can consist of students controlling natives in the island of Temasek, from the early 1700s or even earlier, adapting to the various technological changes (new fishing techniques?), to the emergence of Raffles, (send a diplomat to greet Raffles? Then open the ability to harness resources?), followed by the affects of the world wars, Japanese invasion, and finally to modern times.
The game can possibly capture the attention of the students (until expansion packs can be made...) for a short period of time, but at least they subconsciously can learn the pivotal moments and historical information that encompasses Singapore's history?
The possibilities are endless. You can even have world history running concurrently, and affecting the economic situation of the game scenario, etc, and students will then understand why their empire of Singapore is collapsing... etc.
Or wait.. what about a SIM Singapore (Remember Simcity?). Where they play the role of urban planners? The possibilities are endless....
(Eugene rubs his hands in glee...) (No i'm not heavily intoxicated with caffeine...)
A great idea for a history game! CIVILISATION - SINGAPORE EDITION!!
I remember playing Civilisation , Civilisation I, and II? back in the 90s and boy was it addictive. During the course of gameplay however, as you get carried away with looking for resources and mining for supplies, you actually get snippets of technological advancements, historical moments, building the Wonders of The World to improve your score and 'status'.
Can we perhaps in the future see a Singapore edition? Although this will not be a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Real Playing Game) Game play can consist of students controlling natives in the island of Temasek, from the early 1700s or even earlier, adapting to the various technological changes (new fishing techniques?), to the emergence of Raffles, (send a diplomat to greet Raffles? Then open the ability to harness resources?), followed by the affects of the world wars, Japanese invasion, and finally to modern times.
The game can possibly capture the attention of the students (until expansion packs can be made...) for a short period of time, but at least they subconsciously can learn the pivotal moments and historical information that encompasses Singapore's history?
The possibilities are endless. You can even have world history running concurrently, and affecting the economic situation of the game scenario, etc, and students will then understand why their empire of Singapore is collapsing... etc.
Or wait.. what about a SIM Singapore (Remember Simcity?). Where they play the role of urban planners? The possibilities are endless....
(Eugene rubs his hands in glee...) (No i'm not heavily intoxicated with caffeine...)
The Future. It scares me - Eugene's Part B
It's something to look forward to , with a classroom of the future that enables students to dictate or pace their own learning - they can decide at what pace they would want to learn a certain topic, or perhaps they would be given a myriad of interesting subjects to choose from that would be pertinent to their needs and aspirations. No streaming examinations, no classifications into the normal stream, express, etc, just self-paced.
The myriad of technologies that would be available as highlighted in the video also is something to look forward to. However i have my fears. Yes we are teaching students today to be technologically savvy (if possible), and to think critically and adapt to changes (which the video terms this world is exponentially changing). Would we be able to keep up with these changes? What happens to the institution of education and schools? With self-paced learning, students might not really need to go to school anymore. They can always do their learning at home. What becomes of teachers? Will we just become facilitators? Sitting in the comforts of our home, answering and monitoring our student's progress? How will our students be able to learn EQ, relationship management, and face to face interaction and group dynamics?
Yes the virtual world now exists for us to play out what might entail in real life. This however does not replicate or replace what really happens in the real world. Yes in WOW or any other virtual game, you can make mistakes and try again. If our students make a mistake in life, for example commit a crime, or partake in pre-marital sexual relationships and get pregnant, is there a second chance?
You cannot hit the reboot button on your pc. You cannot perform a restore function. Life carries on, with the lessons learnt and baggages carried. How do we teach these skills to our children if they have no such exposure to real lessons as compared to virtual and computer game-based learning?
With technology being the forefront of our future living and work, what happens to our sense of privacy? Will we be able to switch off and go on a holiday? Or have we already been electronically enslaven? Can we live without our phones for a day? Without text messaging for a day? How will work take place. Will our newspapers become a thing of the past? I would not trade a physical newspaper for an electronic plate which acts like a virtual screen displaying the news of the day which was what the taxi driver was doing in the video which depicts a possible Singapore in 2015. (How hypocritical, we have phones now that allow us to surf the web online)
Learning will definitely be dynamic and possibly self-paced in the future. And NIE is preparing us to learn how to harness technology alongside traditional curriculum like psychology and concepts to better equip us to handle the future of education. Even though the possiblities excite me, the myriad of changes that are about to take place scares me. Life will be come more complicated, more dynamic and exponential.
Sometimes i wish life and education were simple. I guess not.
The myriad of technologies that would be available as highlighted in the video also is something to look forward to. However i have my fears. Yes we are teaching students today to be technologically savvy (if possible), and to think critically and adapt to changes (which the video terms this world is exponentially changing). Would we be able to keep up with these changes? What happens to the institution of education and schools? With self-paced learning, students might not really need to go to school anymore. They can always do their learning at home. What becomes of teachers? Will we just become facilitators? Sitting in the comforts of our home, answering and monitoring our student's progress? How will our students be able to learn EQ, relationship management, and face to face interaction and group dynamics?
Yes the virtual world now exists for us to play out what might entail in real life. This however does not replicate or replace what really happens in the real world. Yes in WOW or any other virtual game, you can make mistakes and try again. If our students make a mistake in life, for example commit a crime, or partake in pre-marital sexual relationships and get pregnant, is there a second chance?
You cannot hit the reboot button on your pc. You cannot perform a restore function. Life carries on, with the lessons learnt and baggages carried. How do we teach these skills to our children if they have no such exposure to real lessons as compared to virtual and computer game-based learning?
With technology being the forefront of our future living and work, what happens to our sense of privacy? Will we be able to switch off and go on a holiday? Or have we already been electronically enslaven? Can we live without our phones for a day? Without text messaging for a day? How will work take place. Will our newspapers become a thing of the past? I would not trade a physical newspaper for an electronic plate which acts like a virtual screen displaying the news of the day which was what the taxi driver was doing in the video which depicts a possible Singapore in 2015. (How hypocritical, we have phones now that allow us to surf the web online)
Learning will definitely be dynamic and possibly self-paced in the future. And NIE is preparing us to learn how to harness technology alongside traditional curriculum like psychology and concepts to better equip us to handle the future of education. Even though the possiblities excite me, the myriad of changes that are about to take place scares me. Life will be come more complicated, more dynamic and exponential.
Sometimes i wish life and education were simple. I guess not.
Eugene's Part A
What are Characteristics of digital natives?
1) Children raised with the computer 'think' differently from previous generation of children. They develop 'hypertext minds, leap around, and that their cognitive structures were parallel, not sequential.'
So apparently linear thought processes that are part of educational systems apparently retard learning for these students whose brains have been brought up on game and web-surfing processes.
These children would be good with mind-maps, pictorial representation in their minds,responds better and faster to 'expected and unexpected stimuli'.
These children crave for interactivity. And are not to be mistaken for having short attention spans. It's simply that the old fashioned way of thinking bores them terribly. So they choose NOT to pay attention.
The cons- Students have lost the ability to reflect on their experiences. This is because they need to be interactively engaged in activities, and multi-task. Reflections require someone to pause and think through their experiences, which is what a digital native has trouble doing.
Digital Portrait----
http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-justin-video
Justin is 16, and would fit the bill of a secondary 4 student in a Singaporean school. I could identify with Justin, because he has a similar background to mine in terms of early computer introduction and interaction.
My contract school also offered animation, and 3-D modelling in school. This gave an avenue for students to explore expressions through the medium of an animation program.
Most singaporean students now also have exposure to technology just like Justin. Most children have their playstations and Nintendo DS-es by the time they are in Primary school. If we could incorporate technology and educational game play into curriculum, this would be an advantage for we could be 'speaking' their language. We cannot use linear ways of teaching or front loading anymore. We have to start using interactive ways to depart knowledge and engage our digital native students. Whether this has to take place on a gaming platform, or gaming methodologies.
And yes i'm guilty of being addicted to World Of Warcraft too in my earlier years fresh out of University. Just like Justin i spent a night or two playing it without sleep.....
1) Children raised with the computer 'think' differently from previous generation of children. They develop 'hypertext minds, leap around, and that their cognitive structures were parallel, not sequential.'
So apparently linear thought processes that are part of educational systems apparently retard learning for these students whose brains have been brought up on game and web-surfing processes.
These children would be good with mind-maps, pictorial representation in their minds,responds better and faster to 'expected and unexpected stimuli'.
These children crave for interactivity. And are not to be mistaken for having short attention spans. It's simply that the old fashioned way of thinking bores them terribly. So they choose NOT to pay attention.
The cons- Students have lost the ability to reflect on their experiences. This is because they need to be interactively engaged in activities, and multi-task. Reflections require someone to pause and think through their experiences, which is what a digital native has trouble doing.
Digital Portrait----
http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-justin-video
Justin is 16, and would fit the bill of a secondary 4 student in a Singaporean school. I could identify with Justin, because he has a similar background to mine in terms of early computer introduction and interaction.
My contract school also offered animation, and 3-D modelling in school. This gave an avenue for students to explore expressions through the medium of an animation program.
Most singaporean students now also have exposure to technology just like Justin. Most children have their playstations and Nintendo DS-es by the time they are in Primary school. If we could incorporate technology and educational game play into curriculum, this would be an advantage for we could be 'speaking' their language. We cannot use linear ways of teaching or front loading anymore. We have to start using interactive ways to depart knowledge and engage our digital native students. Whether this has to take place on a gaming platform, or gaming methodologies.
And yes i'm guilty of being addicted to World Of Warcraft too in my earlier years fresh out of University. Just like Justin i spent a night or two playing it without sleep.....
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Games Games Games!!!! (I know this is a bit late, apologies)
Frankly i've enjoyed every bit of the last 3 weeks, because i guess computer games have always been a pertinent part of my life since i was a wee little lad. I grew up playing Coleco - a console game made in about 1982? I was able to play games like the Dukes Of Hazard, donkey kong, to name a few. I was in Primary 2.
Upper Primary saw Nintendo come into my life, with games like Super Mario Brothers and the Legend Of Lynx partaking my leisure time. We received our first PC when i was in Primary 5. We had our first PC, running on DOS. My first computer game was Alley Cats, and Ultima, and there was no such thing as Windows. You basically had to type commands to run games like C:\alleycats\alleycat.bat. We had to learn how to edit Autoexec.bat files and config.sys files to enable your computer to boot properly.
What's my point? My point is that games and computers have always been a part of my life. And what it afforded me was that it afforded me to fail in my exploits, and to reinforce and build on my identity of who i am. I have been playing World Of Warcraft since 2005. For the last 4 years, on and off, i've been playing the role of a healer.
I've healed various dungeons, raids, and group missions. That's my character and that's what i do best. My nurturing and healing instincts of wanting to help others and keeping others alive is what fuels me to keep playing. When i die, i know all is not lost, and i can resurrect and try again. I foster relationships with real people. I confide in them. When my girlfriend of 9 years dumped me, i played WOW. My online family grieved with me and took my side. There was no facade. Everyone accepted everyone as they were. I went on msn. I grieved. Online messengers have been part of my life since 1991 when we had Teleview and chat forums. Then came ICQ. And Msn messenger.
I saw Paul Gee's learning principals embedded in what i was engaged in.
1) I take risks - "Psychosocial Moratorium" Principle. If i fail, i just say sorry and we try again.
2) Identity Principle - i reinforce my character in game play.
3) Self-knowledge principle - I learnt to adapt to the environment, what my limitations were and how much potential i had.
4) Achievement principle - the more i quested, the more gold i had, the more raids i cooperated with people in, the better chances i had in getting better loot and rare items to don myself and upgrade myself in.
And so on and so forth. I could go on and write a whole paper on this. Which i did for my final project thesis at university.
It would be most interesting if we could go beyond the 'front-loading' principle and try to embed 'game play' principles in our teaching methodologies.
Even more so if we could design games that would have content and sufficient fun and play factors embedded so that students can be engaged and subconsciously learn concepts, theories or historical facts. A new game about the History of Singapore is due for release in the near future. I wonder whether this will be sustainable? How long can students stay engaged before they lose interest and move on?
Realistically, how can a game engage students long enough for them to acquire the knowledge and content that the teacher would like to depart. For most students, at this point of time it would be a 'one-off' experience. Yes Dafur is dying. I played it once, but that's all i was going to do. Game play was too simple, and although the content was noble, i wasn't going to re-visit it during my spare time. Would others do so?
The McDonalds game was an eye-opener. Yes we were aware of the atrocities (rumors) that were swirling around the capitalistic giants, and this had enough challenge for students to want to revisit. What do they learn subconsciously? Heaps! Micro management? Economics? And real life politic-ing.
The Wii Stations were absolutely engaging. It can teach students how to play sports, which encompasses the rules and regulations, and also the surgery station was awesome. Students can be inspired to even try a career in medicine.
I can't wait to see the day computer games take the leap into the classroom. I wonder if i can even start a CCA - Computer game play , or a WOW club, fully funded by the school, with the premise that it would help students learn to be motivated, intellectually challenged, and also learn how to EQ with one another?
I know one school has successfully won that battle. I wonder what it would take for us to win this one and change old conventional teaching stereotypes?
Upper Primary saw Nintendo come into my life, with games like Super Mario Brothers and the Legend Of Lynx partaking my leisure time. We received our first PC when i was in Primary 5. We had our first PC, running on DOS. My first computer game was Alley Cats, and Ultima, and there was no such thing as Windows. You basically had to type commands to run games like C:\alleycats\alleycat.bat. We had to learn how to edit Autoexec.bat files and config.sys files to enable your computer to boot properly.
What's my point? My point is that games and computers have always been a part of my life. And what it afforded me was that it afforded me to fail in my exploits, and to reinforce and build on my identity of who i am. I have been playing World Of Warcraft since 2005. For the last 4 years, on and off, i've been playing the role of a healer.
I've healed various dungeons, raids, and group missions. That's my character and that's what i do best. My nurturing and healing instincts of wanting to help others and keeping others alive is what fuels me to keep playing. When i die, i know all is not lost, and i can resurrect and try again. I foster relationships with real people. I confide in them. When my girlfriend of 9 years dumped me, i played WOW. My online family grieved with me and took my side. There was no facade. Everyone accepted everyone as they were. I went on msn. I grieved. Online messengers have been part of my life since 1991 when we had Teleview and chat forums. Then came ICQ. And Msn messenger.
I saw Paul Gee's learning principals embedded in what i was engaged in.
1) I take risks - "Psychosocial Moratorium" Principle. If i fail, i just say sorry and we try again.
2) Identity Principle - i reinforce my character in game play.
3) Self-knowledge principle - I learnt to adapt to the environment, what my limitations were and how much potential i had.
4) Achievement principle - the more i quested, the more gold i had, the more raids i cooperated with people in, the better chances i had in getting better loot and rare items to don myself and upgrade myself in.
And so on and so forth. I could go on and write a whole paper on this. Which i did for my final project thesis at university.
It would be most interesting if we could go beyond the 'front-loading' principle and try to embed 'game play' principles in our teaching methodologies.
Even more so if we could design games that would have content and sufficient fun and play factors embedded so that students can be engaged and subconsciously learn concepts, theories or historical facts. A new game about the History of Singapore is due for release in the near future. I wonder whether this will be sustainable? How long can students stay engaged before they lose interest and move on?
Realistically, how can a game engage students long enough for them to acquire the knowledge and content that the teacher would like to depart. For most students, at this point of time it would be a 'one-off' experience. Yes Dafur is dying. I played it once, but that's all i was going to do. Game play was too simple, and although the content was noble, i wasn't going to re-visit it during my spare time. Would others do so?
The McDonalds game was an eye-opener. Yes we were aware of the atrocities (rumors) that were swirling around the capitalistic giants, and this had enough challenge for students to want to revisit. What do they learn subconsciously? Heaps! Micro management? Economics? And real life politic-ing.
The Wii Stations were absolutely engaging. It can teach students how to play sports, which encompasses the rules and regulations, and also the surgery station was awesome. Students can be inspired to even try a career in medicine.
I can't wait to see the day computer games take the leap into the classroom. I wonder if i can even start a CCA - Computer game play , or a WOW club, fully funded by the school, with the premise that it would help students learn to be motivated, intellectually challenged, and also learn how to EQ with one another?
I know one school has successfully won that battle. I wonder what it would take for us to win this one and change old conventional teaching stereotypes?
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Elearning2_PartB
The future? This reminds me of art works we used to draw in primary school. 'Imagine you are in year 2000.' or 2010. And often enough we'd see pictures of people travelling (flying more specifically) in UFO-like vehicles. now we are in 2009, and we are still stuck in jams on the roads.
The future can indeed bring many new possibilities, most of which I will attempt to embrace. I saw the concept of smarthomes in a module during my undergraduate years and I admit that I would love to have that in my future home (though it will probably burn a hole in my pocket). It can be really convenient if you have the lights switched on when you enter, music choosen according to my mood, and have items automatically added to my shopping list.
But the pervasive reach of technology can be disconcerting. While getting an sms notification that a shop is selling my shampoo at a discounted rate (yes that can be possible in the future) can be a boon, where do we draw the line between being informed, and bombarded unnecessary information. Online shopping for example can suggest items based on our initial selections. Yes, that gorgeous dress (which we do not need) may not have been found since it was the 199th item on the list. But since it conveniently appeared under 'you might like this too' and you add it to your shopping cart and have yet another item in your already overflowing wardrobe.
This module has been useful in preparing us to prepare our students for the possible future. The indiv assignment being a case in point. One way to prepare for the future and its many possibilities is to know how to use them effectively. Users need to be aware of the benefits of technology as well as its possible detriments.
Overall, I will honestly admit that I do not feel adequately prepared for what teaching will bring. I think we have not been exposed to schools and students enough and are merely absorbing theories without seeing its applicability in actual lessons. But I do believe that we will learn more on the job (:
To prepare myself, I shall attempt to play more games during the holidays. I am tempted to buy myself a wii set :D I admit it will take time before I will be convinced that games can deliver proper lessons, but I do hope that that day will eventually come.
I liked the design and layout of the COTF. Having the space segmented will definitely aid the learning of a mixed ability class. As Kapp shared, having a large space allows students to work on different tasks at the same time and in the same place. Technology can indeed help teachers cater to the varied needs of their students.
The future can indeed bring many new possibilities, most of which I will attempt to embrace. I saw the concept of smarthomes in a module during my undergraduate years and I admit that I would love to have that in my future home (though it will probably burn a hole in my pocket). It can be really convenient if you have the lights switched on when you enter, music choosen according to my mood, and have items automatically added to my shopping list.
But the pervasive reach of technology can be disconcerting. While getting an sms notification that a shop is selling my shampoo at a discounted rate (yes that can be possible in the future) can be a boon, where do we draw the line between being informed, and bombarded unnecessary information. Online shopping for example can suggest items based on our initial selections. Yes, that gorgeous dress (which we do not need) may not have been found since it was the 199th item on the list. But since it conveniently appeared under 'you might like this too' and you add it to your shopping cart and have yet another item in your already overflowing wardrobe.
This module has been useful in preparing us to prepare our students for the possible future. The indiv assignment being a case in point. One way to prepare for the future and its many possibilities is to know how to use them effectively. Users need to be aware of the benefits of technology as well as its possible detriments.
Overall, I will honestly admit that I do not feel adequately prepared for what teaching will bring. I think we have not been exposed to schools and students enough and are merely absorbing theories without seeing its applicability in actual lessons. But I do believe that we will learn more on the job (:
To prepare myself, I shall attempt to play more games during the holidays. I am tempted to buy myself a wii set :D I admit it will take time before I will be convinced that games can deliver proper lessons, but I do hope that that day will eventually come.
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