In this weeks Education Weekly newspaper there was an article that hit home with what I have been doing for the past two months in MAT school, education technology. This article states that the Gates Foundation is going to donate between $60-$80 million dollars to the increase education of technology in schools. The goal of this program is to educate our students not only for college but for life. Our world and the jobs in it are becoming more and more technology based and the Gates Foundation feels that not preparing our students for this world is a problem.
The question is how do we educate our students to be technologically prepared for the world that they will face in the future. This article does not go into how or what will be taught in these schools. I believe from my experience in education technology class I have the skills to answer this question. First, looking at what it is to be educated in technology. Being educated in technology is to become technologically literate. This means that you will be able to navigate and comprehend basic programs such as excel, word, power point and many more. You will also have to have the capabilities to use online programs like goggle documents, screenr, delicious, blogs, etc. With an understanding of these programs along with the internet you will have the basics needed to be considered technologically literate.
To help our students reach the goal of being literate in technology, we as teachers must instruct the students on the basic skills it takes to run these programs efficiently. An example of a class lesson would be to put kids in small groups to research a topic. Once each group has information on their topic they would come up to the teachers computer, group by group, and make 2-5 power point pages on their subject. While each group is using power point they will be recording the steps taken to prepare their presentation on screenr. After every group has completed the task you can then show the class all the projects. Students then will be able to see the steps taken by each group to accomplish the presentations. Then you have the students reflect on how they used the programs, power point and screenr, and how their classmates did. This will allow your students multiple perspectives and a deeper understanding of the programs being used. The Gate Foundation grant will be a great thing for students and what they can accomplish in technology.
Maybe. Were you instructed in these programs while in school? I was not, nor was anyone of my generation or older. Yet, we have not been bypassed by the technological revolution.
ReplyDeleteWhat is different about the current group of children that need special forms of education that the generation of children who created most of these technologies never had?
(This might be a trick question)