Well, even though the information was interesting and important, I had a hard time focusing on it and giving it my full attention. Like the students in the video, after a while I switched to multitasking while listening to it. I surprised myself as to how attentive I got when listening to it and checking my email or logging into Facebook at the same time. I am aware that students feel that they are learning better by multitasking while research has proven that it is not necessarily true, but I felt it worked for me. Therefore, I am wondering if in these times our brains are so used to multitasking that it has trouble when asked to focus on a single task. At school, I have noticed that when a teacher is reading aloud to the class, several students are playing with their writing tools or doodling. Often the teacher will ask them to stop or takes it away from them thinking that it is distracting them from the task at hand. I believe that it is important to ask those students a question regarding the material just read, and if they answer correctly then one knows that they were listening. Many students need those “distractions” in order to pay attention, and teachers should be sensitive to those needs. I feel this need also arises when the lesson is not engaging enough for the students. Our digital native students are used to multitasking and being engaged using digital tools in the learning process. I believe this need must be accommodated as long as it is not negating the learning of others.
Another point discussed in the video was about the addiction of gaming that is prevalent amongst young students in Asia which was shocking to me. It has reached to such a point that it is considered as a psychiatric disorder and requires treatment. Now days teaching students internet etiquette is part of the school curriculum in several countries in Asia. Personally, I have experienced this scare myself and found it hard to deal with it. I felt my son went through this online gaming addiction at the end of his middle school and early high school years. Just as the mother in the video, I was at a lost as how to address this issue. He was missing school and assignments as he use to stay up all night playing games. I tried taking away the internet, but that was not effective as he was far more technologically advanced and knew how to get it back. So I went back to the age old remedy that is to have him receive natural consequences for his choices. It was the hardest decision I had to make as it is difficult to let your child fall while you stand back and watch. His grades in English and Social Studies started to decline rapidly and having to attend summer school to recuperate credits is what got him out of the gaming abyss is my belief. As I was listening to that portion of the video, I could identify with that mother’s trials and tribulations of having to help her son get rid of the gaming addiction and felt for her pain. But again the technology is an integral part of our youth’s life and it is important that we understand its power and take advantage of it for effective teaching and learning.
This video showed several point of views regarding the pros and cons of technology and its integration in teaching and learning in schools. However, it did not convince me either way whether to use it all the time for everything or not use it at all. In fact the last words said by MIT professor Sherry Turkle echoed my philosophy on integrating technology in the classroom. Like her I too believe that technology is powerful, complicated and we must take advantage of it but must also ask ourselves what it does to us. We will have to slowly find the balance which will take time. Either way there isn’t enough research to support whether using technology, multitasking, or using virtual worlds is beneficial or harmful to our youth and nation. More research and studies need to be conducted and information shared before one can claim of its value. Meanwhile, I hope to find that fine balance so that I can make the learning process in my classroom appealing and constructive for the future needs of my students and the nation.
I have provided the hyperlink if you would like to view the video and would appreciate if you could share your thoughts on it.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/view/
I did the same-- multitasked through the video, but I have to remind myself that this is ok too. I didn't have to see every facial expression to understand the emotion in the speaker's voices. Oftentimes, I would look away and check a text or two, but I could rewind, pause and jot down a note or two, and was happy about this reality.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should mention the doodling. I doodle when I am in my hyper- thinking mode--- for everything to sink in for me, I must get into that zone. I don't read a book, or even read on my iPad without a pen in hand, and scratch paper at the ready. For our generation, this was a big no no. If I had a nickel for
everytime a teacher redirected my doodling to " focus" better on a lecture, I
certainly wouldn't have to work! This doodling relaxed me and allowed me to knock out the distractions in class -- really hear what my instructor was saying. You are right on spot when you say that we should stop and check for knowledge before assuming the drawing is a form of tuning out, because oftentimes this zen-like practice (or others) allows a student to hyper focus on the material which is a good thing for most of us when striving for deeper knowledge :)