“Technology is anything that wasn’t around when you were born”. This quote from Alan Kay, shared in our lecture last Tuesday, stood out to me as it made me rethink what technology really was. Having been born in 1999 I have always seen the use of computers, phones, and the internet from almost as far back as I can remember. So for me technology is the development and optimizations that are happening in more recent times, but years in the past objects like the blackboard were as innovative as the smart boards were when they were being introduced when I was in school. This also made me look back on the classroom sit-ins I did for Education 100 where I attended a grade 7-8 class, and a few things that stood out to me was that the grade 7 class had a 3D-Printer, and laptops for every student to use. When I was in school we still went to the computer lab, and 3D-Printers weren’t even invented yet, but now they are seemingly commonplace in the average school.
Because technology keeps developing at such a fast pace, the modern student now has access to so much information and help through the internet and devices such as their phones. This was shown in Wesch’s presentation, where he stated that 9232 hours of content was being uploaded toYouTube every day. As his video was 15 years old, it made me curious as to how many hours were being posted on YouTube in more modern times. After a quick google search I found this website which stated that as of June 2022, 500 hours of content was being uploaded to YouTube every MINUTE, or roughly 30,000 hours of content per HOUR. Three times more content is being uploaded to YouTube every hour in 2022 than was uploaded in an entire day back in 2009! In watching Wesch’s video I got a question, googled it, and found an answer to my question all in the span of three minutes. This shows just how easy it is to find information with modern technology, and how much there is to be found. The question for me then becomes whether the information I found is accurate or not, and I feel that it this point is incredibly important for the modern teacher as I feel they should teach students how to research properly using modern technology, and how to guarantee whether the information gained is accurate or not.
When Wesch began discussing “Networked Individualization” (18:50), he mentioned that people were growing becoming more individualized and independent, yet held a growing want for community and deeper relationships. For this reason I believe that holding education in a physical face-to-face matter is incredibly important as it gives the wanted community in a way that online interactions do not. As humans are social creatures, there is something unique about having a physical classroom environment where students and teachers can mingle and interact that the internet and online classrooms cannot provide. I feel physical classrooms are even more important during the developmental years of a student as it teaches them the necessary social skills to interact with others in the future.
In my EMTH 200 class we recently discussed how my professor has used DESMOS’ student/teacher websites to teach students how to create line functions and parabolas. By using this site he can easily see where each student is in the practice problems, what they are trying, what they are stuck on, and the average understanding of the class in real time. The grade 7 class I sat in had something similar where they would solve homework problems on a website (I cannot remember the name), and the data would then be sent to the teacher so he could adjust his lessons to what the class needs. Getting this information live is incredible as before a lot of time would have to be spent grading and comparing these homework assignments personally by hand with pen and paper which could take days (keep in mind both the classes mentioned above were math/science oriented so I don’t know much about technology for English or history). With the rapid development of technology, teachers are also getting amazing tools that can help them adjust their class to the student’s needs faster and provide the help the student may need faster. Technology is in constant development, and with the creation of things like ChatGPT (creating a whole new problem in detecting cheating) teachers need to maintain an awareness of modern tools that are accessible to students and how to work with/around them in order to provide the best education possible.
Hi Everett! It is truly remarkable to see how much more content is being created every minute compared to 15 years ago. I was born in 2000 so I can relate to your experience throughout school as most of my learning was done with a pencil and paper or using the computer labs. I can still remember when our school first got smartboards when I was in grade 4 however, not every class received one. Now you cannot walk into a classroom without seeing some kind of smartboard device. I also 100% agree with you, one of the most important roles for us teachers moving forward is teaching our students how to distinguish between misinformation and reputable sources, and generally how to use the internet effectively. Thanks for your post, I enjoyed reading it!
Hi Everett! Wow what an insightful post! I too was curious about how much content is being posted to YouTube today, but instead of googling I just pondered. It is so critical that we can now have all of the answers to our questions within minutes. While I find this so useful, do you ever contemplate what it does to us socially? Instead of having a lively conversation with friends about one thing or another, we can just google the answer instead of attempting to come up with it on our own. Don’t get me wrong, being in the era of information is truly a gift, but it is something that occupies my mind. Further, I consider what having so much information does to the levels at which we experience anxiety. We can find out just how many planes have crashed, how many planes take off per day, how many flights we take per year, and apply logic to determine how likely it is that we end up in a plane crash. Multiply that by how many anxiety-rittling problems we may encounter in a day and a person can really drive themselves crazy! Information is wonderful, however too much information may be a deficit.
I really enjoyed your post!
Hi Everett!
Your opening quote was very thought-provoking. I currently work as an EA and every classroom in the school has a smartboard, but of course we still have a heavy tv on a rolling cart with a VHS and DVD player with it for sentimental purposes and some of our more old-fashioned teachers. I was born in 1998 and the school system is so diffrent to what I remember, but also still the same in many ways. So much is still around, but so much is gone, as well.
Very interesting post!
Cheyenne
Hi Everett!
I like your point about having a physical classroom environment where students and teachers can mingle and interact. This for sure will encourage social skills in the students. Considering the rapid increase in the use of technology nowadays, I wonder if there’s a way educators can strike a balance between the use of technology and the physical interaction in their classrooms.