I'm enraged by Marc Prensky's article "Engage Me or Enrage Me": What Today's Learners Demand. A quick look at his background tells me that he not really an educator at heart: his endeavor is to develop and sell online games, and his clients (with the exception of Nokia) have some of the worst repurtations for exploiting people and the planet: IBM, Bank of America, and the Department of Defense ?!
Prensky makes a number of blanket statements which I'd like to see backed up with solid evidence. Some examples:
(In the 60s)....."those kids lives were a lot less rich." Numerous studies have shown that the happiness levels of Americans have declined steadily since the 1950s.
"Today.....all the students we teach have something in their lives that's really engaging - something that they do and that they are good at, something that has an engaging, creative component to it." He also implies that all students (in the US) have cell phones and ipods and Internet access. What about the poor in America? Perhaps he should read Barbara Ehrehreich's "Nickel and Dimed." Or read statistics like one in a recent issue of TIME magazine: One in eight Americans sought emergency food assistance last year. Or just take a walk outside his sheltered, game-filled life.
"Their short attention spans......are only for the old ways of learning." How will their short attention spans serve them (or us) when they are airplane pilots or surgeons or farmers or engineers or teachers? LIFE is not an online game.
This blog isn't meant to fit the rubric - it's meant to be a rant, because that's exactly what Prensky's article is: unscholarly work, fit for the trash bin.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
THINGAMAJIGS AND DOHICKEYS
WHAT THE HECK IS A.......?
On the most general and basic level, I want to understand what my students and colleagues are talking about in terms of educational and social technology and, when feasible and possible, how to use those “thingamajiggers.” I also want to be able to manage incoming information more efficiently, for both work and home purposes. When the time is right, I would hope to be able to choose tools which can enhance learning and fit realistically into one-quarter classes. Finally, this is an opportunity for me, who works as a “team of one,” to use all the connectivity aspects of technology to learn continually with and from other educators.
I would also like to hear or read a bit from the “non-techie” side – the educators who AREN’T sold on educational technology, or educators who have chosen to form or work in “unplugged schools.” If we are lifelong learners and educators, we have an obligation to think critically, and not be completely sold on ANY educational approach without looking at the other side of the coin. I have concerns about how technology is widening the rich-poor gap, the commercial aspect of the Internet, and the environmental impact of the use of technology. And I’d like to know more about how multi-tasking and frequent use of the computer affect the brain, particularly short- and long-term memory, and the parts of the brain which activate empathy. Will any of the course content look at these issues?
From the first two class sessions, I have a better understanding of how a social networking tool such as Facebook can be used for social action purposes (“crowdsourcing”), and how an RSS feed can help me to manage reading material, subscriptions, and course materials. I also found that using delicious.com as a search engine can be a great resource; it led me to lesson plans on sustainability, something I had been trying to do rather slowly and not very efficiently using general google searches. From Chris Betcher, I learned about newsmap.jp – a rather new and wide and general resource for news articles which is attractive and can be used in many ways. I was so excited about that one (for Humanities), that I shared it with our librarian and the MS Humanities Department.
On the most general and basic level, I want to understand what my students and colleagues are talking about in terms of educational and social technology and, when feasible and possible, how to use those “thingamajiggers.” I also want to be able to manage incoming information more efficiently, for both work and home purposes. When the time is right, I would hope to be able to choose tools which can enhance learning and fit realistically into one-quarter classes. Finally, this is an opportunity for me, who works as a “team of one,” to use all the connectivity aspects of technology to learn continually with and from other educators.
I would also like to hear or read a bit from the “non-techie” side – the educators who AREN’T sold on educational technology, or educators who have chosen to form or work in “unplugged schools.” If we are lifelong learners and educators, we have an obligation to think critically, and not be completely sold on ANY educational approach without looking at the other side of the coin. I have concerns about how technology is widening the rich-poor gap, the commercial aspect of the Internet, and the environmental impact of the use of technology. And I’d like to know more about how multi-tasking and frequent use of the computer affect the brain, particularly short- and long-term memory, and the parts of the brain which activate empathy. Will any of the course content look at these issues?
From the first two class sessions, I have a better understanding of how a social networking tool such as Facebook can be used for social action purposes (“crowdsourcing”), and how an RSS feed can help me to manage reading material, subscriptions, and course materials. I also found that using delicious.com as a search engine can be a great resource; it led me to lesson plans on sustainability, something I had been trying to do rather slowly and not very efficiently using general google searches. From Chris Betcher, I learned about newsmap.jp – a rather new and wide and general resource for news articles which is attractive and can be used in many ways. I was so excited about that one (for Humanities), that I shared it with our librarian and the MS Humanities Department.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
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