So as far as the role I feel media technology should play in teaching, I stand at the view point that every child/person learns differently, and sometimes it takes unique avenues such as media technology to fully understand a concept. It also makes learning fun. As students, we can all relate to the typical power-point/3 hour lecture or the usual generic group work; but by giving different avenues such as blogging or videos, music, etc., it helps students to be excited to learn something new in a refreshing way. I have been in my different classes where we had to read a play or a novel of some sort, and then the instructor showed the film in class. I can honestly say that more than a few times it took me to see the film after I read the text to really connect different things and fully understand the texts. However, I feel as though there always should be that happy medium of media technology in the classroom. Teachers at any level should be able to incorporate media technology to help students learn in “informal” ways, but there should still be that discipline that comes with learning as well. I’m sure everyone has experienced a subject or a certain text that they just did not want to study, however, this is part of learning and branching out to hopefully view things differently. But I do think that a certain amount of technology in the classroom can be very refreshing and can open students eyes to different things they might have been oblivious to before.
My e-mail: michelle.thomas.624@my.csun.edu
Hey, Michelle. I agree with what you're saying about new media being helpful in understanding concepts in the classroom, but also needing to be used responsibly. I remember times when even showing a movie in class was seen as sort of an excuse for teachers not to have to teach or for students not to have to pay attention. It's interesting, then, that newer media are now being better understood and accepted as useful teaching tools. As someone who has transferred between a few schools, I've noticed that C.S.U.N. in particular seems to be big on using technology, with Moodle being just one example. I've also noticed that several people in the class have commented, as you did, that media should not fully replace more "formal" ways of teaching. I think it's interesting that multiple people our age seem to think that, since the perception among older people is probably (and, apparently, wrongly) that we youth would prefer entirely new, technology-based education.
ReplyDeleteI also am in support of what you believe. There should always be a balance with media in the class, as there should be with textbooks, lecturing, group work, etc. I found it interesting that you mentioned a PowerPoint lecture being the opposite from "different avenues such as blogging or videos, music, etc." In my blog post, I used PowerPoint as a bad example of media technology. It has been around for so long that it's no longer considered innovative technology and hasn't really been serving its purpose either. Students use it as an easy way to hide their poor work and most teachers' slides create a nice zoning-out spot for sleepy students.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your intro, I give you credit for being able to turn the situation with your parents into a learning experience. I can definitely say that I've learned far more from the bad examples in life than the good ones. It takes a lot of strength to do that!