Image retrieved from https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/9-characteristics-of-21st-century-learning
The Thinking about Technology activities included listening to Punya Mishra’s keynote speech and 21st century education with ABC host Antony Funnell.
Greg Whitby (19 August 2012) in his interview with ABC host Antony Funnell, Whitby claims that the focus on technology is a “waste of time” saying, “If you focus on the technology, you ignore the central problem and the central issue.”
When asked, what do I think he means by this? and to what extent do I agree?
I believe that Greg is referring to technology as a tool to assist teaching in meeting their teaching objectives. Whitby (2012) states that “it is critical to have very good teachers who are committed to learning about their craft” this suggests that teachers are seen as subject matter experts and that they are expected to know the in’s and out’s within their teaching area. Technology will in play a role in one way of another for all teachers, I believe Greg Whitby is implying that teachers should be driving there teaching needs based on their subject and learning requirements rather than have technology control the outcome and its boundaries. In many ways I agree with Whitby’s (2012) meaning, in a sense that teachers should be controlling the messages to provoke learning to “equip young people to be socially critical and participants in a society” weather this be via technology or practical solutions.
When asked why do I think we focus on the technology?
I think we focus on technology as this is or strongest, most engaging and so frequently changing tool. We focus on what is new and what has changed as software updates and technology improves over time. Technology is our external brain, we depend on technology to guide, inform and transform our everyday lives. As Whitby (2012) suggests mobile phones are our communication device, therefore they become more powerful inside and outside the classroom.
Punya Mishra (2012) in his keynote speech at the 21st Century Learning Conference in Hong Kong constantly refers to working with the resources that we have. Mishra (2012) states that technology has fundamentally changed every discipline.
Mishra (2012) makes reference to the teaching culture in the past and present, comparing the new and the old. Teaching must be flexible in many ways to the student’s needs, the available resources and the literacy objectives within the curriculum. Mishra unpacks the concept of ‘repurposing’ as teachers we are constantly repursuing technology in our teaching to adapt and respond to the current environment.
An example that left an impact on me was when Mishra (2012) shared that students undertaking an exam in Demark, had full access to the internet, however this required a change in how questions were framed. Moving from “when or who” based questions to “how and why”. This example is so powerful in the sense that we as a society are changing the way that we perceive knowledge.
As a point of reflection on these activities I have found myself observing all forms of technology both socially and more formally. The way that we use and depend on technology on a daily basis. I recently attended a RIMPA (Records and Information Management Professionals Australia) seminar to explore the digital transition agenda of government and private sector agencies. Rainer Krause Managing Director of ELO Digital Office gave a very insightful talk about what becoming a digital agency involves and the thinking behind its movement, obviously this starts with the people. The main point from his talk that was a highlight for me, Rainer (2016) “students think in threads”.
Reference:
Davies, A. 2012. 21st century education [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/futuretense/21st-century-education/4197700#transcript
Krause, R. 2016. Presentation @ RIMPA (Records and Information Management Professionals Australia) November 2016 Seminar- Canberra.
Mishra, P. 2012. Keynote speaker @ 21st Century Learning Conference – Hong Kong 2012 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bwXYa91fvQ&feature=youtu.be
23/11/2016 at 7:25 pm
Hi Kim,
Great blog, the layout, and the content its really good. I loved your post this week. I totally agree, technology is a great tool but has to be used correctly for it to serve its purpose….you don’t want it to be a distraction but a tool to be used for the advancement of the learning for the students.
I am going to be a TAS teacher one day as well, looking forward to the challenge. All the best!
Nate
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24/11/2016 at 9:38 am
Thanks Nate,
I certainly agree that we can’t allow for technology as a distraction. I guess the challenge will be designing activities that are interesting enough for students to not become distracted, although at this stage I feel that may be easier said than done.
Thanks for your comment and support, looking forward to working through some of these challenges with follow your and other follow TAS teachers.
Many thanks
Kim
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24/11/2016 at 6:32 pm
Hi Kim,
I have really enjoyed you blog post and think you have highlighted some great points in this weeks resources!
I definitely agree with your perspective on Whitby’s interview is an important one that it’s important to focus on the quality of teaching and subject requirements, with technology being integrated and used to assist in teaching rather than controlling the outcomes.
When discussing Punya Mishra’s speech, I think you have raised some really interesting points on how we perceive knowledge. Technology definitely has a significant impact on how students gain and perceive knowledge and I guess we as educators need to be aware of this to ensure we are keeping a students engaged.
Until your next post…
Estelle 🙂
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25/11/2016 at 12:28 am
HI KIm,
Thanks for sharing your post. I also found the comment about changing the exam interesting. I am hoping to be a secondary maths teacher and feel that the focus of our teaching is (or has or should be – I’m not sure yet!) changing from memorising formulas, and even working out simple mathematical problems to more complex problem solving since most people own a smart phone and can not only use their calculator app, but can easily find the derivative of anything in a few clicks.
Thanks, Bec
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01/12/2016 at 12:49 pm
In your post you mentioned Mishra (2012) stating that technology has fundamentally changed every discipline. With the introduction of the interactive white board has brought a whole new dimension on learning. I was particularly impressed working in a special needs classroom where the students were totally engaged throughout the lesson with the aid of this tool. Schools have definitely change since I went to school watching behind the news on an old box television, overhead projectors and printed text off the old romeo machine.
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06/12/2016 at 10:31 pm
Hi Kim,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. My understanding of what Whitby claimed in the ABC podcast that the focus on technology is a “waste of time” is that, the teachers don’t need to master the technology to be able to assist the students with the technology. The current staff development programme seems focus on training the teachers, not how the students learn. The impression that the teachers need to be technology expert to be able to transfer the knowledge to the students does cause the anxiety for the teachers and didn’t achieve expected results. Therefore it’s a waste of time. Alan November (2013) also suggested to include the students into the staff development programme to achieve student-centered teaching and learning.
I am also very impressed with Punya Mishra’s (2012) keynote speech. His idea of repurposing the technology is a creative and innovative act and the teachers play a crucial mediating role in this transformation. How to interpret the teacher’s role and how to integrate the technology into the teaching and learning really depend on each teacher’s expertise and how they can motivate students to think, create and innovate.
Denmark is one of the top countries that provides high quality educations and it’s not surprising that they allow the students sitting in the exam with full access of the internet. I think their focus is not about students solving the problem, but about how students design and create the problems. Alan November stated in his article “the seven questions that every new teacher should be able to answer” that how internet forced the redefinition of the teacher’s added value. The teacher for the 21st century needs to manage their own professional growth, teach students to learn what the teacher doesn’t know and how to design the problems etc. The transition is challenging and won’t be easy to manage.
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23/01/2017 at 9:53 pm
Hi Kim
I found the podcast interesting, and also interrupted Whitby to say that focusing on technology is a waste of time as that focus takes away from the more important issue of ensuring students learn. Its interesting as it is a different view, with new technologies so popular in helping students to learn. There are many points of view to this issue, and its good to be able to read these.
Lauren
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