Dr.Zhao has exposed me to a new kind of educational thinking of which I was not aware. As much as I knew that technology was being used more and more, I had no idea to the degree that other school systems have implemented blogging, videos, and wiki and del.icio.us techniques to enhance learning.
I was uncomfortable with the idea that the whole system of education needs to be revised-it is obsolete- as that is a daunting challenge and very scary to me. I have to say that everything he said made perfect sense to me if we are going to keep up with our global neighbors and allow students to learn and teach in the style to which they have become accustomed.
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8 comments:
Kathy,
I am glad I am not the only one who is scared of revamping the entire educational system. Hopefully we will be able to add technology to what is working well and recalibrate the things that aren't working well instead of scraping everything. It is daunting how technologically linked other places are though.
Brian
Kathy,
I agree with you that it is a scary idea to scrap the educational system and begin anew with an ultra technology infused mindset. Hopefully we can find a way to add technology to the things that are working and retool the things that aren't working well and improve them with technology. Kids seem to be focused when they are using technology and I think we should use this to our advantage.
I guess that the old saying "Keeping up with the Jones'" is more fact than fiction. The idea that we have to keep up with our "global neighbors" is a daunting fact and one that we might be hard-pressed to fulfill unless we move forward with our technology and innovative ideas.
I agree, it is scary, but look at how the world has changed! Change is uncomfortable, of course, but the computer has really globalized the whole world. The kids have to learn to be forward thinkers and learners. I was just talking with one of my adult children, and he said he can't remember anything about high school.
All the technology he learned in college is even changing; he is having to keep up to date with online classes and new certifications. Look at us taking this online class- who would have thought that we'd be learning this way!
I do like the idea of introducing competition into the educational system. We are like a business- the business of educating the future.
I am reading what you wrote and thinking about what our Superintendant said when we met on the first day in the HS Auditorium. We ARE preparing kids for jobs that don't even exist yet because technology is changing so fast. Who knows what job seekers will be interviewing for in the next twenty years? I guess the best we can do is teach them to be adaptable.
I believe we react the same way to new ideas. It is hard to picture what a future school will truly look like. It is scary but then if we really think about it, would our parents have thought that we would be using the technology in schools we have today.
Kathy:
What scares me is that if we do not keep up with other nations in adapting technology into our classrooms, we will be left behind and no longer be the leader in education. We need to adapt, integrate and grow or our students will be the ones that will suffer.
Kathy,
I agree that change is scary, especially in education. I am, however, really happy to finally hear someone actually say that the way we do education is outdated and it does need to change. There is always that idea that everyone is thinking about and it only takes one person to say it!
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