This week for Educational Technology, it was all about open
access. Just about everyone has access to technology, more so now than ever.
This has changed the landscape of the classroom and education as a whole.
In our
learning environments, we have endless ways to share. In the YouTube video “OpenEducation Matters: Why is it important to share content?” it was discussed
about how something put online can reach people all around the world. This feeds into the concept of participatory
communities - people are hungry for information, and are also the creators of
that information. As educators, we have an obligation to create content and
share it along with the information that we’re taking in for our own use.
In the classroom,
I believe open access can be easy. Uploading a video of your unique lesson to YouTube
or blogging creative lesson plans is something everyone can and should do. It
can help anyone learn something, whether it be another teacher or a struggling
student that’s googling something they need more help with.
I believe
the future of education lies in technology. Students having internet access can
bring learning to a whole new level, because they can access content at all
times of day. Smart phones have already capitalized on it, because people can
use them literally almost anywhere in the world at any time. Getting new
information is at the click of a button. It will be different, but I believe it
will be good.
I do not believe
textbooks will become obsolete. Traditional paper textbooks, however, may. E-books
are a whole new plateau of education and the open access platform. They can be
shared at the click of a button, and used anywhere – laptop, smart phone,
tablet, etc. I also believe textbooks will be supplemented more than ever with
external resources – videos, articles, and websites with games – to help kids
see something in another way.
I think that the textbooks being supplemented with the external resources is a great point to make about the future of technology. They'll make it easier for kids with all learning types to view what was taught in different ways.
ReplyDeleteI'm all on board for computers, tablets, and e-readers for use in the classroom. When it comes to smartphone use during an actual lesson, and not outside of the classroom, Im on the fence. You can prevent students from wandering online in class via firewalls and blocks, but a smartphone would still leave the temptation to text. What do you guys think?
ReplyDeleteI agree with that most textbooks will be turned into e-books, it makes me sad that traditional textbooks will be gone though. I like the old-fashioned way of reading and reading online is very hard for me to do myself. However, students with different learning types will find it way easier to use all different types of resources online.
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