Newer. Faster. Brighter. Stronger. Better? week 6, post 3
So my duties at my job are starting to take firmer shape (after some months of feeling I was in a sort of limbo, first doing odd jobs here and there and then being without a manager more recently)
My new manager is a very driven and commited Instructional Designer, excited about technology and using it to improve coursework. (He even teaches a course on social media.). The coincidence of him becoming my manager at the same time as I’m taking this class has not escaped me, and I’m excited if I can put into practice the lessons I’ve learend from this class in my work.
I’m on the Learning Design Innovation team, with the idea to test out and pilot new tools/policies/procedures to improve and expand our course design. It’s been only a few weeks that I’ve really worked with this goal in mind, and it’s been great.
At the same time, sometimes I look at these new technologies and just wonder if they are bells and whistles and not really improving/affecting online learning. Bells and whistles are fine, but when you are talking about education and learning, I feel strongly they should be in the service of the that goal.
It’s an initial tendency in me whenever I see something new to wonder what’s the point. I don’t think I’m a totaly cynic, as I do like being excited and genuinely appreciate improved ways of doing things. But I hope my initial skepticism will serve well as a means for a new tool to have to really prove itself to justify its use.
This is all so new to me, of course. Even as a public librarian, it’s not like I really got to use much new technology for teaching. Oh, what I could’ve done, perhaps, if I knew about the free tech that was available out there. I didn’t even know to look!
But my mind gets blown even seeing what my 5 year old son did in this past year at kindergarten. Education has certainly come a long way, as well it should, since I was his age. He uses computers and a software called iReady for learning reading and math. So when I see him do his homework on that, i wonder if he’s learning better than I did at his age, when I didn’t have that technology. Does it really help? I guess it does, as I’ve read the theories and stats in all these classes for my certificate that say learning is enhanced when there is visual/auditory/ reading components. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the specific software he’s using is better, or that this better multi-pronged delivery is best achieved using computerized learning tools.
It’s definitely hard for me to relate sometimes to what he experiences in school. And he’s only in kindergarten! I saw my 12 year old nephew doing his homework online one day, and I was similarly confused- even more so really- so I know this feeling is going to continue.
Did my parents feel that out of touch with my learning compared to theirs? Was schooling, the teaching methods, that different between when they went to schools in the 50s-60s to my elementary/high school education in the 80s/90s? Of course educational theories change over time, and objectives and new practices take effect, but I don’t think so drastic a sea change occurred as when computers came into the picture (but we’ve heard that about everything in life now, haven’t we?)
My new manager is a very driven and commited Instructional Designer, excited about technology and using it to improve coursework. (He even teaches a course on social media.). The coincidence of him becoming my manager at the same time as I’m taking this class has not escaped me, and I’m excited if I can put into practice the lessons I’ve learend from this class in my work.
I’m on the Learning Design Innovation team, with the idea to test out and pilot new tools/policies/procedures to improve and expand our course design. It’s been only a few weeks that I’ve really worked with this goal in mind, and it’s been great.
At the same time, sometimes I look at these new technologies and just wonder if they are bells and whistles and not really improving/affecting online learning. Bells and whistles are fine, but when you are talking about education and learning, I feel strongly they should be in the service of the that goal.
It’s an initial tendency in me whenever I see something new to wonder what’s the point. I don’t think I’m a totaly cynic, as I do like being excited and genuinely appreciate improved ways of doing things. But I hope my initial skepticism will serve well as a means for a new tool to have to really prove itself to justify its use.
This is all so new to me, of course. Even as a public librarian, it’s not like I really got to use much new technology for teaching. Oh, what I could’ve done, perhaps, if I knew about the free tech that was available out there. I didn’t even know to look!
But my mind gets blown even seeing what my 5 year old son did in this past year at kindergarten. Education has certainly come a long way, as well it should, since I was his age. He uses computers and a software called iReady for learning reading and math. So when I see him do his homework on that, i wonder if he’s learning better than I did at his age, when I didn’t have that technology. Does it really help? I guess it does, as I’ve read the theories and stats in all these classes for my certificate that say learning is enhanced when there is visual/auditory/ reading components. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the specific software he’s using is better, or that this better multi-pronged delivery is best achieved using computerized learning tools.
It’s definitely hard for me to relate sometimes to what he experiences in school. And he’s only in kindergarten! I saw my 12 year old nephew doing his homework online one day, and I was similarly confused- even more so really- so I know this feeling is going to continue.
Did my parents feel that out of touch with my learning compared to theirs? Was schooling, the teaching methods, that different between when they went to schools in the 50s-60s to my elementary/high school education in the 80s/90s? Of course educational theories change over time, and objectives and new practices take effect, but I don’t think so drastic a sea change occurred as when computers came into the picture (but we’ve heard that about everything in life now, haven’t we?)
You have such great points about the bells and whistles! We have to remember that it all comes back to the importance of good instructional design because just adding bells and whistles will not improve the learning outcome if the instructional design was not good.
ReplyDeleteI just wrote a similar post : Shiny Pennies & External Pressures Here, There, and Everywhere Driving Instructional Decisions: https://kariknisely.com/2019/06/23/shiny-pennies-and-external-pressures-here-there-and-everywhere-driving-instructional-decisions/
So I have a 4 year old and 6 year old and am probably on my way to experiencing what you are experiencing. I am personally debating when to introduce them to more technology, like smartphones / pcs etc, social media and video games. Now they definitely have had exposure, but I feel the smartphones in particular I want to be especially careful with. I don't want it to become a tool of distraction, but I also don't want to hold them back either. Since I won't be surprised if they will have to use these devices in the classroom at an early age.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is amazing what kids are introduced to. My 11-year-old daughter started using googledocs I think in third grade! It's amazing how the cloud is second nature to them, whereas it took adults quite a few years to adopt. It's so much easier to share documents in the cloud than via email.
ReplyDelete