Technology and 21st Century Learning

 1. Do you feel school is preparing you adequately for your future. Why or why not?
In my opinion school is doing a good job preparing me for my future but there are many things that school could be doing better as well. The use of group projects and strict deadlines are especially helpful in preparing me for life in a real workplace. I also think the courses taught at this school provide good building blocks for knowledge and skills that I will use and acquire late in life. However there are also areas of preparation that the school is lacking. On of those areas is financial management and budgeting, as only 18 percent of women and 32 percent of men with a high school diploma could answer basic questions on inflation, risk and diversification according to statistics Canada. My knowledge of those areas has come from sources outside of school. As well I think there should be more emphasis on computer literacy since almost every modern job requires proficiency in that field. In this field as well most of my knowledge comes from non-school sources. All in all I think school is doing a good job adequately preparing me for my future but there are still many opportunities for improvement.
2. How do you personally use technology to learn?
I use many different types of technology to learn, in fact most of the learning I do is aided by technology. The vast resources and knowledge available on the internet have probably been the biggest aid to me personally. If I don't understand a concept taught in class there are usually hundreds of articles and videos I can access with a click of a button that will explain it to me. Websites like Khan academy, YouTube, Stack Overflow and many other help forums have been especially useful. As well sites like Moodle and Google classrooms have been helpful in making interactions with me and my teachers easier. The use of smart boards in classes like math also have a large positive impact on my learning. 
3. Do classes that use more technology appeal to you? Is it easier for you to learn the content?
Yes it is easier for me to learn when technology is applied to schooling in the right way. If new technology is used that the teacher and/or students can't understand then I think the technology does more harm then good. When the teacher has a good grasp on the technology then it can be very helpful to the learning environment. One good example of this in my experience is smart boards, since they have been around for a while most teachers have a good handle on them and are able to integrate them effectively into the classroom. Teachers who have websites also seem to facilitate more student-teacher interaction and make more resources available to the students.
4. Does it matter to you if a teacher uses technology in class? Why or why not?
What matter most to me is that a teacher is able to teach effectively and resourcefully using whatever methods they feel comfortable with. I'd rather have a teacher that uses no technology then one who uses technology but struggles to teach with it. However in my experience the best and most capable teachers are the ones who use more technology, because they tend to be more innovative and receptive to change in the learning environment. So in the sense that a teacher's technology use is more a product of their personality, I would rather be in a class with a teacher who uses technology then one who does not.
5.What technology would you like to see teachers use that is not currently being used?  Why did you choose that technology?
Virtual textbooks and ebooks in general should be used much more in education then they are now. Having to carry around four textbooks a semester and keep track of them is extremely tedious, difficult and unnecessary. The cost of buying new editions of hardcover print textbooks is expensive and puts strain on schools already tight budgets. Many students including myself already use the virtual versions of our textbooks so the physical versions just take up space in our lockers and become expensive annoyances when lost. This would also mean you could just buy the license to a textbook once, and be constantly downloading and updating the information as it becomes out dated instead of buying a new physical copy every couple of years. Virtual textbooks would also be much more environmentally friendly for this reason. This would be a rather easy innovation that would help students and teachers alike, but since it would hurt the profits of the textbook companies it may take a while for it to be adopted. 

Comments

Popular Posts