“When we look at how kids
are being positioned to engage, to tinker with, to explore, to represent themselves,
to pursue their passions with these new media technology tools, and then we
look at how disciplinary content of school is being positioned, we have a real
disconnect. And we wonder why when kids
leave school, they run home, jump in these new media where they have agency,
they have consequentiality, they have people taking up what they’re doing, they
have a legitimate role for using these [technological tools].” - Sasha Barab
Watching the assigned videos for this week really brought home
to me the need for teaching our teachers how to teach our children to employ
21st century technological tools for learning.
Our children are immersed in technology in their personal lives, but are
disengaged from technology in the classroom.
The Digital Generation Project, sponsored by the John D. and Catherine
T. MacArthur Foundation, is an excellent example of what can be done when we
allow our children to use the technology which they are so familiar with in the
classroom. Developing digital literacy
in our children is of paramount importance – they are our future leaders, and
they must be able to compete globally if America is to remain as a world leader. Thus, “digital learning is not only about
cool gadgets, but about engagement, self-directed learning, creativity and
empowerment (Zargaryan, 2010).”
The question then becomes:
Are U.S. schools adequately preparing students to compete in the
21st-century global economy? President
Barack Obama said in his 2011 State of the Union address, “We know what it
takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world
(Peterson, et al, 2011)” In order to accomplish this, educators, administrators,
parents and everyone else must recognize the value of
educational technology in the teaching of our children. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has monitored research on the effectiveness of education technology for more than 20 years. According to the ISTE Policy Brief, Technology and Student Achievement – The Indelible Link, one convincing trend has emerged: “when implemented appropriately, the integration of technology into instruction has a strong positive impact on student achievement (2008).”
References:
Edutopia.org. (nd). Big Thinkers: Sasha Barab on New-Media Engagement.
Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-sasha-barab-video
Kadel, R. (2008). Technology and student achievement –
the indelible link (Policy brief).
Retrieved from http://www.k12hsn.org/files/research/Technology/ISTE_policy_brief_student_achievement.
PetersonAre U.S. Students Ready to Compete?” Education Next Journal, 11: (4). Retrieved from http://educationnext.org/are-u-s-students-ready-to-compete/
Zargaryan, T. (2010). My
reflection on Digital Generation Project [Edublogs.org Weblog]. Retrieved from http://tatevikzargaryan.edublogs.org/2010/10/19/.
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