The video of ted talk was a very interesting twenty something minutes. The way technology impacted these little areas of the world is truly inspiring , but if I recall, the students who were a part of this study, were being directed, or supported by a another person. At first, they did fail to grasp any information but essentially with a person there, they were being encouraged by the person to really push them to be able to make connections which is essentially what a teacher does. The only difference is, no board, no markers, no paper and pen, just words of encouragement.
The article also discusses this and the impact of technology in the classroom. Though the focus was really the change in the role of the teacher in the class room, I want to discuss a bit the another thing mentioned. I get the feeling this article is starting to say teachers are no longer needed. I get the feeling that this idea of teacher following the student-driven model not only restricts the teachers, but so does the availability of lesson plans and activities online which then lead to less preparation and less participation by the teacher in the classroom. A misconception I believe is being insinuated is that youtube, khan academy, ted talk and many other resources available really make the job of being a teacher extremely easy such that in a way that these resources are really telling what the teacher should be doing such as goals, activities and requirements for the students. I feel the article is basically saying any average man that can fix a problem with computers can do that as well.
The article and the video both made me reflect a bit on the state of education and my future job. See I’m not one who is a big fan of technology. I realize that it is an amazing resource and supplement for any lessons, but I do know there are many flaws in it. Honestly, I believe the role of technology will constantly change and teachers will have to adapt to that and even change their methods of teaching but it will never replace them in the classroom. It’s an amazing resource but is is not the best way to learn. The ted talk experiment may have worked in a place far far away, but that would never work in the U.S. Many students don’t have a drive to do work, they don’t set aside time to do research. The fact that we already set aside time by law to learn is the only saving grace for them. I may have drifted a bit, but I think I made my point on the impact it would have elsewhere vs. in the U.S.
Thanks for the thoughtful review Armando! I’m not sure whether the author of the article was suggesting that technological resources make the job of the teacher extremely easy, but I think he was suggesting that it might look that way to administrators and policymakers. I’m with you, though, that teachers should adapt to use technology but that technology should never replace teachers.