Week 3 Homework Post - Preparing Students for the 21st Century

After reading both chapters and watching the video, it became inherently clear just how crucial technology is in the learning process for students of all ages. One particular element that took me by surprise was how quickly the children of India acquired computer literacy skills, even with limited access to the actual computer. Mitra made it very obvious that children can easily self instruct themselves in basic computer literacy skills, even overcoming language barriers, as long as they have access to a computer. He stated that the children of the remote communities could learn all the computer basics simply by watching each other and exploring through hands on, trial and error endeavors.

At first I found this process of self instruction to be amazing; however, upon second thought, I realized I had gone through a similar experience as a student. As a high school student, Microsoft Office was growing in popularity in the educational world. I had never been exposed to power point until my sophomore year of high school, when I was thrown into a “sink or swim” situation where we were required to use the program in a group project. Through my own self instruction, I figured out exactly how to use the program. To this day, I have never received any formal instruction in power point, yet I am extremely proficient in it and use it as a primary tool for my classroom instruction. The forward of 21^st Century Skills written by Ken Kay reinforced this belief. He states that “it is more likely that young people pick up these skills by chance in everyday living and job experiences and, yes, sometimes in school – if they are lucky enough to have good mentors or are astute enough to recognize and build these skills on their own” (Kay, xx).

One point discussed that I strongly agree with is that as educators, we need to develop a rigorous and demanding curriculum that focuses equally on content and skills. Unfortunately, the current climate of education does not foster this belief, as many politicians and members of the business world are consistently pushing towards the “teach to the test” method, a highly ineffective, bureaucratic practice that hinders student performance. I personally stray away from this awful teaching practice, and push towards the higher order thinking lessons, as I strongly believe that it is my job as an educator to prepare students for the real world one day.

Another aspect of the reading I strongly agree with is utilizing social networks as a learning tool. I actively promote this in my classroom, and use a variety of technologies to support my in-class instruction. Sites such as youtube, turnitin.com, moodle and oncourse (just to name a few) are regularly used in my classroom. I hold online scored discussions, give online quizzes, maintain a website filled with a variety of student resources and even assign video projects that the students must post to youtube. All of these technologies enhance the classroom experience, and help the students acquire the 21^st century skills that will enable them to be successful adults in the work force one day.

Thinking About Educating for the Future - Part 1

In order to maximize student achievement in the future, it is essential for teachers/supervisors/administrators to incorporate new technological trends into the classroom.

One thing in particular that needs to change is to allow students to have more computer access during the school day. In this day and age, students’ lives revolve around a computer, and it would be a wonderful thing to allow students to participate in class through computers, ultimately having a laptop for each child. Handouts could be posted to a course website prior to the start of class and the students could access them, as well as power points and other tools/resources before class begins.  Classes could be paperless, thus enabling the district to be more “green”. This would allow for more student participation, and would make the content of the curriculum more relevant to them and their interests.

Testing strategies also need to significantly change, as the current bureaucratic method of standardized testing is largely ineffective. Technology can assist in this process, as incorporating it into the classroom can allow for a variety of differentiated assessments. Using sites such as Moodle and Turnitin.com, students can discuss topics, take quizzes, self-correct their work, and better understand the content.  Utilizing this kind of technology takes the pressure off the assessment, as the students can work on their assignments at their leisure, from the comfort of their own home. It gives them the opportunity to feel prepared, and they don’t have to worry about feeling self conscious in front of their peers. They also have the ability to learn in the style that works best for them. Additionally, the class can access documents which can be used during class time, which as mentioned in the previous paragraph, can help students better prepare for classes and make the district more “green”.

A third characteristic that will have to be changed is training teachers in technology. Currently, many students know more about technology than their teachers. If a teacher is “out of the loop”, there is no way they can reach the students in a way that the assignment will be relevant to them and their lives. Professional development in technology needs to be offered to teachers who both desire and need the assistance so they can be more effective educators.

All of these changes are significantly important, as they seek to improve the quality of education we are providing to our students. Technology can do this, but as educators, we need to allow these changes to take place before we can make the content relevant to our students.

Assignment #1 - "The Long Tail" Question Responses

1) What you like about it or found interesting and why.
The article “The Long Tail” brought up a variety of valid points all focused on the technological revolution that is currently occurring in society. The dot-com boom of the nineties inevitably broadened the horizons of a variety of marketing, production and entertainment entrepreneurs, making products of all kinds more accessible to the consumer. Chris Anderson makes it very clear that the usage of the internet allows people to access products that they would normally never see because of space and cost limitations in stores. The consumer ability to go down “the path less traveled” and purchase such items is the basis of “The Long Tail”.
I personally agreed with much of what Anderson had to say. The internet is quickly becoming the new ‘go to’ spot for quick and easy purchases. It is quick, easy and convenient, and you rarely have to worry about products being unavailable, regardless of how unconventional the purchase may be. It is difficult to understand why a company would not have their information online in some shape of form, as it seems to do nothing more than help them in the long run.
2) Questions you have about it.
Many of my questions are referring to statistics. I am extremely wary of statements that are unsupported, and although I am sure Anderson’s claims are true, I always prefer to see the facts before I completely am on board. My questions are listed below.
-What are statistics showing people are interested in that diverge from mainstream products/media?

-In comparison, what percentage of people diverge from the mainstream path now that they have been exposed to more opportunities? Are there statistics available to support the author’s statements?

-Will the “Long Tail” inspire retailers to diversify their wares both in store and online to enhance sales and increase profits? How many have done so already?

-Is there a cost involved with making thousands, if not millions of additional items available online for the main websites?
3) Recommendations for what you might want to change about what the author said and why.
My main recommendation would be to use more factual evidence to support the statements made in the article. It was very interesting, but it was lacking the necessary factual foundation to completely bring me on board with all of the ideas presented.
It seems that the author is insinuating that stores would profit greatly from including non-mainstream merchandise in their stores. He cites websites such as Amazon as prime examples, stating that more than half of Amazon’s book sales do not fall under the top 130,000 book category that would be carried in a normal book store. I would definitely like some further clarification on this insinuated point, as the concept of making non-hits earn their keep in a physical store is unfathomable to me.
One particular point that I found fascinating was the cost breakdown of selling music online. The author stated that music is marked up by 25% for online singles on iTunes; however I do disagree with the author’s statement that digital prices should reflect the digital costs. I certainly like to save money, however I also recognize the validity of keeping prices consistent with those in physical stores. By lowering online costs, they would essentially be cutting off their noses to spite their faces since they would be undercutting their own stores, inevitably putting them out of business in the long run. This would ultimately close an entire market for sales of those products, which would only serve to hurt the producers of the product. Also, for those who are not “tech savvy”, such an event would be catastrophic, as they would not have the means to purchase the items they want. The author states that such a scenario would not, in fact, hurt the producers, for they would sell more by charging less. However, I did not feel substantial evidence was cited to support this statement. I would be interested in seeing documented statistics to give more grounds to this assertion.