There are many positive and negative aspects to this article. First, I really like and support the idea of advancing the ways in which children learn. It's important to realize that technology is such a large part of the younger generation, that we must almost mold the way schools teach to fit their lifestyles. It may seem a lot more interesting and fun to a student that they can use their Ipods or MP3's to learn instead of a book. I believe this may be an excellent options for auditory learners as well. As we know, every student learns differently and it is great for teachers to have the option to give their students another resource. It is also a method that works among all age groups since it requires no reading or language skills to listen. As far as the subjects being taught digitally, I feel at this point some are more beneficiary than others. Foreign languages for instance are a great subject to teach digitally since it really helps to be as immersed in the language as possible. It also helps students to really learn how to speak the language rather than just read and write it.
On the negative end, these devices are expensive, which can definitely isolate certain students from having the opportunity to learn this way. There is also the issue of students losing or weakening their study skills. Students are able to multi-task while using their MP-3 devices to the greatest extent of the word. This takes away from students sitting down and only focusing on their work. I personally learn best with a book. It keeps me in one place and it keeps me focused, because I am not going to walk around the house carrying a book I am reading. There are already so many distractions and reasons for students to multi-task today that this just perpetuates the problem.
While I definitely support education and technology moving forward, I think we should proceed with caution and make sure we are still taking the needs of each individual student into consideration.
No comments:
Post a Comment