Yes, I agree that education should stretch someone. By stretch I mean that you should be encouraged to reach your full potential, and if technology is the best way to do this, I think it should be embraced.
For example, lots of people find it difficult to engage with material in certain forms, this may be done to their individual interests, or a genetic disposition like ADHD or simply because they perceive something as not worth learning. If, as Prensky suggests, material were to be presented in a more digestible format for example through computer games, and it was found that this was successful in encouraging people to engage I think it is worth considering.
Within the journal article, ‘Designing and testing a web-based board game for teaching information literacy skills and concepts’ it was found that students who were taught literacy skills via a computer game had accuracy levels 20 points higher than they would have been if the answers were guessed, so there is evidence to suggest that learning via the Internet has merit in teaching students information literacy skills and concepts.
However, a danger of this approach would be that students would come to become reliant upon this type of learning, which would not be helpful for them in their general lives, as it leaves me thinking that people may come to find it impossible to simply sit down with a book and take in information. If education were to do this it would be in no way ‘stretching’ the pupils, rather it would be increasing the effects of the digital divide, in that we’d be left with half of the population learning through traditional methods, and half learning through web based methods.
Marky, K. (2008) “Designing and testing a web-based board game for teaching information literacy skills and concepts” Library Hi Tech, Vol. 26 (Issue 4) P.663-681
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Yes, you've got the point exactly (to my way of thinking). Being stretched involves encountering difference doesn't it? If everything is tailored to fit your comfort zone. You become disempowered because out in the world, things won't be so tailored and you'll be up a gum tree.
ReplyDeleteIf education puts you in demanding situations, 'boring' ones, confusing ones, difficult ones, as well as some which you find 'suitable' to your predilections, then you will be much more able to succeed in varied situations in later life, won't you?
I remember at the begining of this unit I read the eg questions for the essay at the end of this unit. My first thought was " f***....what does this mean? I can't do this!" and now i've recently read them again I don't feel like that at all.
ReplyDeleteHad i understood them at the begining then the unit wouldn't have been demanding for me, I wouldn't have been stretched, and i wouldn't have learnt anything. Like Dave said, it was previously out of my comfort Zone, but by being 'stretched' in the blogging i've learnt (hopefully :P)
I agree that during your educational life you should be presented with material which you don't understand.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I was a lot younger I used to struggle massively with basic maths (I still don't have a clue which symbol means greater than and which means less than < > ??) However, being put in that situation and feeling completely confused and left behind the rest of the class pushed me to try extra hard to compensate for my difficulty with this subject.
Surely that's a desirable life experience in that it made me more determined? If I never experienced anything challenging at school, and then suddenly got into the "real world" and was stuck, I wouldn't have a clue how to deal with it and there would be a real danger of becoming complacent about education.