Question 6: Do we lost something equally important?

Author: Catherine Cooper

Date: October 7, 2009 9:18 PM

Like a lot of you, I am also taking the Learning Theories class along with this class. This week's reading on motivational learning was really interesting to me. I think perhaps that some teachers may be so excited or feel so pressured to use the latest and greatest technologies that they overlook what they have to personally offer their students. Teachers can be great mentors to students as they share with them their life experiences and select engaging learning activities that help them find life application to what they are being taught. I think just having a verbal discussion with students can be very meaningful for them and technology might just get in the way. 

Cathy,

I like your word "mentor" when your refer to teachers. I also agree with your last sentence that "just having a verbal discussion with students can be very meaningful for them and technology might just get in the way."

Sometimes, technology distracts students' attention from what they are supposed to learn.

Your comment reminds me a classical example in Chinese culture. There was a very famous enlightened rabbi called Hui Neng in ancient China. One day, a Buddhist nun holding a Buddhism scripture wants to consult him. Hui Neng told her: "I can not read the characters. If you can read the scripture for me, I'll interpret it to you." The Buddhist nun was so surprised and asked: "You do not know a word. How can you interpret the profound Buddhist scripture?!" Hui Neng then raised an example for her. He said: "I'm now using my finger to show you the moon. But, if you can see the moon by yourself, you don't need my finger to point it to you at all."

I love this story. It's very meaningful and interesting. However, a large amount of people are doing lots of researches on the little "finger", its shape, color, dimensions, weight, structure, etc.. But they forget the moon.

I think this little story is a suitable example to your comment, too. The meaning of the existence of technology is to serve and assist teaching, however, when teaching and instruction can be done by the simplest way, "technology might just get in the way".

 

Q: Do we lost something equally important?

Q: Do we lost something equally important?

The situation is that the whole world is rushing to apply the cutting-edge technological inventions in education industry; in the meantime, however, do we lost anything equally important in education when we got what we expected from technology? (e.g. creativity, personality, characteristics, moral values, etc.)

Compare the differences between nowadays students and your or your parents' generation's experiences, and give examples to support your idea.

Also, share your ideas on how you would like or have already done to cover the "gap(s)" or "loophole(s)" to help students' life-span developments, and be valuable for both the individual him/herself and our society.

Yes. Today's generation is so different. It seems like they are born to master the hi-tech skills.

However, I'm keep thinking that why we want everything "natural" but education. We hope to eat organically, to dress organically, and to live naturally. But when talking about education, people prefer technology to be involved as mush as it can, rather than "educate naturally".
I played with sand, rocks and water when I was a small kid. I used them to build tunnels, small hills, houses, military base, etc. How about today's kids? They do the similar things by clicks through a program on a computer. When we were running and chasing each others and playing games, today's kids are sitting in front of the computers playing computer games or watching "educational TV programs".
I'm not saying to get rid of the technology part from education which is not practical as well, nevertheless, I do feel pity for them sometimes. What a childhood memory it will be? A childhood without childishness.

Question 5: More technology, more problems?

On page 7 of the article, the author states, "The application of technological solutions to one problem may create other problems which may be more serious than the original problem."

What are some examples of this "negative cost-benefit ratio" that you see in education and instruction today?

Corollary: Does the need to transform our schools into 21st-century institutions outweigh other concerns?

When I read this statement, I was comparing this technology issue to my personal experiences on language learning.

Technology does solve many problems in every aspect of our human lives and SOMETIMES makes things easier and more convenient for us. However, the conditional requirement is that you are equipped with that knowledge or skill. If not, it can only make things harder and more complicated.

It acts as a bottle neck, filtering those capable, smart and gifted people who cannot (properly) use it out. Just like the language barrier. If you want to study abroad, especially in a country that speaks another language, you have to learn that language first and learn it very well to be qualified to enter an institution or school. Even you are outstanding in your professional field, but it's only because either you don't have time to learn another language or you are really bad at language learning, there is no way for that person to get the chance.

Same thing in this technology situation. When technology becomes to dominate our society everywhere, including education and instruction, and the teacher and instructor have to master the skills or they are required to use the technology in their teaching, it really blocks those qualified teachers who can not use it.

Technology capability is only one of the thousands abilities of a human living being, it's NOT all. In addition, it's not the key instruction problem in learning process. Does it mean that if schools are equipped with the best technology products, their students would be the best AS A RESULT? If your answer is no, so where do you like to place those experienced teachers/instructors who do not know or are not good at using technology products? They may be filtered out by an irrelevant criterion required by today's society.