What if your “Teacher is an App?”
(A reflection on the blog article by Will Richardson, “My Teacher is an App” http://willrichardson.com)
According to Richard Elmore of Harvard University, digital tools fulfill fresh portals through which knowledge can enter schools (2002, cited by Ferriter, 2009). Throughout this posting by Mr. Richardson, he comments how the growth of online educational experiences (cybereducation) provide personalized educational experiences, it also minimizes the role of the classroom teacher and provide states with an outlet for making budget cuts. However, while this blog illustrates that online classrooms are quickly becoming the way of the future, and are producing the results desired from standardized testing while providing an educational experience using these digital tools, the question is raised if these “fresh portals” are in fact making us less competitive, not more (Richardson, 2011).
As an educator, I agree with this observation. Yes, the way our students learn and the needs of our students are changing, but there are still many valuable lessons that cannot be taught through online resources. Author Robert Fulghum has written many books, one of which is titled “All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” In this book, Fulghum outlines the basic skills for life, such as “Share Everything, Play Fair, and Clean Up Your Own Mess” (Fulghum, 1989). By removing students from the traditional classroom, the opportunities for these life lessons is also removed, as the opportunity to interact with students outside of the virtual world is limited. From personal observation, the younger generation rely more on written forms of modern communication, such as texting and social media sites, rather than physically engaging in conversations with their peers. The traditional classroom offers the opportunity to interact with peers and practice skills needed to interact with others in the world we physically live in.
According to Richard Elmore of Harvard University, digital tools fulfill fresh portals through which knowledge can enter schools (2002, cited by Ferriter, 2009). Throughout this posting by Mr. Richardson, he comments how the growth of online educational experiences (cybereducation) provide personalized educational experiences, it also minimizes the role of the classroom teacher and provide states with an outlet for making budget cuts. However, while this blog illustrates that online classrooms are quickly becoming the way of the future, and are producing the results desired from standardized testing while providing an educational experience using these digital tools, the question is raised if these “fresh portals” are in fact making us less competitive, not more (Richardson, 2011).
As an educator, I agree with this observation. Yes, the way our students learn and the needs of our students are changing, but there are still many valuable lessons that cannot be taught through online resources. Author Robert Fulghum has written many books, one of which is titled “All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” In this book, Fulghum outlines the basic skills for life, such as “Share Everything, Play Fair, and Clean Up Your Own Mess” (Fulghum, 1989). By removing students from the traditional classroom, the opportunities for these life lessons is also removed, as the opportunity to interact with students outside of the virtual world is limited. From personal observation, the younger generation rely more on written forms of modern communication, such as texting and social media sites, rather than physically engaging in conversations with their peers. The traditional classroom offers the opportunity to interact with peers and practice skills needed to interact with others in the world we physically live in.
Dr. Ormrod stated that to teach effectively, one must know how students learn (n.d.). While an online educator, through the use of computer grading, can monitor the progress of twice as many students than a traditional classroom teacher, he or she can only monitor student comprehension through completed work. In Richardson’s blog, he referenced how a student scanned an article and flipped back and forth between the article and the quiz in order to complete an assignment (Richardson, 2011). Yes, progress monitoring is important, but without knowing how they think through things, these online educators are not in a good position to help these students think more effectively about the subject matter (Ormrod, n.d.).
Lastly, these cybereducation opportunities fail to educate the whole child. These online schools provide the core curriculum for students, but fail to provide an arts education for students. Sadly, this trend is becoming the case in traditional schools as well, which deprives the students of aesthetic experiences, those experiences that can only be achieved through physical experience (Hoffer, 1993). Humans live as an attempt to make life interesting, rewarding, and satisfying, and the arts create an important difference between existing and living (Hoffer, 1993). In my opinion, and Richardson’s, by focusing on doing things better but not in ways that are reinventive, we are, by relying on cybereducational experiences, using cheaper, easier alternatives that are not serving kids well.
Fulghum, R. (1988). All i really need to know i learned in kindergarten: uncommon thoughts on common things. (1 ed.). New York, NY: Villard Books. Hoffer, C. R. (1993). Introduction to music education. (2 ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). An introduction to learning [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Dr. Jeanne Ormrod. Richardson, W. (2011, November 12). My teacher is an app [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://willrichardson.com/
References
Ferriter, B. (2009). Learning with blogs and wikis. Educational Leadership, 66(5), 34-38.
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