If you're reading this, there's a good chance that you are conscious of how technology is changing everything. I'm not so much worried about you.
But what about the teachers who resist or even hate technology?
I'm sure there were people who loved a good scroll. The look, the touch and the feel of a good scroll was comforting - but books came along and everything changed.
The look, the touch and the feel of a good book is comforting - but the cloud has come along and everything is changing.
Interesting video. I'm taking a Teaching and Learning in Digital Environments course this summer before I student teach in the fall, and many of our discussions have centered on this idea. I'll have to share this with my class. Thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteIf access to data is what you want/need, then this works. But not everyone is expert enough to be able to interpret or reconstruct knowledge from discrete facts. I still prefer books for some of what I need. Daniel Levitin (Your Brain on Music), Michael Pollan (anything), Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea)... these ideas now have a home on the web, but the critical analysis and construction of theory takes place much more comfortably in a book.
ReplyDeleteThe educational community (or any community?) online facilitates discussion about data ("facts"), but I don't think this *replaces* the single author's thesis.
That said, I see this as yet another use and defense of the public library when our facilities are being closed and underfunded in a time when citizens need even more access.
Interesting video. I agree that our access to information for research purposes has changed forever. I find it ridiculous that the standards in my state of CA still require students to be versed in the use of Encyclopedias and almanacs. Really?
ReplyDeleteBut... I recently purchased two online text books for courses I'm taking for my masters. I've had to print them out completely, because the digital format was impeding my comprehension and making it take twice as long to read. Why? Too hard to scan back and forth to read headings, titles, charts, graphs... My reading was taking me more than twice as long as it should. Plus, my eyes get tired of the screen. There's lots of data out there on problems of looking at computer screens for too many hours, but I've rarely heard this come up when we talk about students looking at digital books for hours on end.
Perhaps someday, digital books will be as easy to navigate as paper books. But that hasn't happened yet.
That’s an interesting video. Through this blog you educate all students worldwide. Keep it up Joe.
ReplyDelete