How can we think outside the box we live in?
We as educators need to think outside of the box for the new 21st century learners. The students of the 21st century crave visual and control of their learning environment. These learners’ 21st century learners are eager to be engaged in this type of pedagogical environment with interactive experiences, which allows for consistent learning and relearning. Students of the 21st century crave opportunities to be directly involved in exploring new material delivered in a technological format. New generational students learn by doing, and the entertainment factor within technological resources supports more meaningful engagement. The traditional 20th century format is no longer challenging or interesting for these students. The ever-changing nature of technology helps to maintain focus and assure high interest within an educational setting. The existing problem is that educators don’t have the training or knowledge to reach these new learners. Thinking outside of this box will take all of us educators coming together to embrace this new approach. Leaving behind the traditional methods of copies and class lectures. To turn towards student simulation activities which engage the students to make decisions in a virtual real life arena.
When addressing the problem is that educators don’t know how to reach these new learners. Educators and school administrators in the K-12 setting tend to view video and computer games solely as a form of entertainment. Often, these games are not viewed as educational tools. Once these educators are taught to also think outside of the box and use the vast amount of tools that technology has to offer, we will all be thinking outside of the box.
Photo taken by Dennis Keegan.
Great post. I just blogged about the exact same thing! I find it so hard to get these kids thinking outside the box when they are so regimented to conforming to standardized testing. Hopefully, we will be the change they need, after taking these courses and now knowing how to navigate them out of the box.
ReplyDeleteDennis, it’s unfortunate that so many educators don’t see the value that games can offer. I let my stepson play World of Warcraft starting at age 8. After watching him play he picked up a number of skills, so technical, some social. He learned a little bit about economics, map reading, social interaction, team work, proper grammar (I didn’t let him type “leet speak” until he could type grammatically correct sentences), and typing skills just to name a few. While World of Warcraft is probably not easily accessible for public schools there are plenty of free games that are. Hopefully in the future educators and parents will see the value of these games.
ReplyDeleteDennis, I agree with you in the fact that students are no longer challenged or interested in the former traditional 20th century type learning. They are digital natives, and because of this, they want to learn using all of the new technology that is out there. This is why I am conducting my thesis on "The use of social networks in the classroom to increase student participation." I hope, and I believe, that eventually a large majority of the high school level students will be taking their classes solely online. I think that this will become the norm, just as it has for college students. Our world is definitely changing, and the teachers don't change with it, then the world is just going to pass them by.
ReplyDeleteWell written summary. I like that you wrote that it's the out-dated format and not the content that is what needs to be up-dated. I taught sixth-grade social studies, and being a new teacher I didn't know any better, so i had my students play "Age of Empires" as part of the lesson. I also read to them a version of the "Epic of Gilgamesh" projecting giant images of the story on my classroom walls as we read the story. Good times with Utnapishtim, Enkidu, Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven (notice I left out all that ugly stuff with the goddess Ishtar).
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