Students with more knowledge than teachers?
It seems to be an ongoing thread in our discussions from week to week that the students may have more knowledge or skill than the teacher when it comes to technology. Though I agree that there may be instances where students have knowledge about specific technologies, I do not know that we really need to be scared of this reality. An analogy that I thought of is a Physical Education teacher at the high school level. Neither the students nor our society would expect that person to be a better athlete than all of the high school varsity athletes. It would not be a problem if students on the track team could run faster than the Physical Education teacher. However, the teacher's role is to organize and plan the learning in the class. The teacher needs to have a knowledge base about Education, Physical Education, and Exercise and Sports Science. If a student knows a play in basketball that the teacher does not know, would that cause a problem if the student did it during the phys ed class?
And just what is this massive technology knowledge that we think kids have? Sure, they can text, IM, play World of Warcraft, use MySpace and facebook, and they know other uses of the technology. But, how many of them really know meaningful ways to use the technologies to promote learning?
I think this is how we, as teachers remain important and will not just be "pushing the button" or uploading a new program as in The Matrix.
Comments
Marc Prensky wrote:
As educators, we must take our cues from our students' 21st century innovations and behaviors, abandoning, in many cases, our own predigital instincts and comfort zones. Teachers must practice putting engagement before content when teaching. They need to laugh at their own digital immigrant accents, pay attention to how their students learn, and value and honor what their students know. They must remember that they are teaching in the 21st century. This means encouraging decision making among students, involving students in designing instruction, and getting input from students about how they would teach. Teachers needn't master all the new technologies. They should continue doing what they do best: leading discussion in the classroom. But they must find ways to incorporate into those discussions the information and knowledge that their students acquire outside class in their digital lives.
Our young people generally have a much better idea of what the future is bringing than we do. They're already busy adopting new systems for communicating (instant messaging), sharing (blogs), buying and selling (eBay), exchanging (peer-to-peer technology), creating (Flash), meeting (3D worlds), collecting (downloads), coordinating (wikis), evaluating (reputation systems), searching (Google), analyzing (SETI), reporting (camera phones), programming (modding), socializing (chat rooms), and even learning (Web surfing).
We need to help all our students take advantage of these new tools and systems to educate themselves. I know this is especially hard when we're the ones floundering, but teachers can certainly ask students, “Does anyone do anything on the Web that is relevant to what we're discussing?” or “Can you think of any examples of this problem in your computer games?” Teachers can also help students figure out who has the best access to technology outside school and encourage students to form study groups so that more students benefit from this access. Teachers can learn what technological equipment they need in their classrooms simply by asking students, and they can lobby to get these items installed in school computer labs and libraries.
http://www.ascd.org/cms/objectlib/ascdframeset/index.cfm?publication=http://www.ascd.org/authors/ed_lead/el200512_prensky.html
Posted by: Katie | March 2, 2008 7:37 PM
I have generally found that other than the knowledge of how to bypass the school's block to access myspace and email, most of my students have very little practical computer knowledge. Most of what they know is very specific and was shown to them, but they lack the ability to figure things out on their own.
Even if they do know more than us, I do not think we should be intimidated. Many upper level art students are probably more skilled in certain aspects of art making than I am, but I still have things I can teach them.
Posted by: Laura | March 5, 2008 11:14 AM
I definitely agree.
I think most teachers that fear their students know more about technology than they do are generally scared of technology already and their fears are compounded by the paranoia of students having superior knowledge. I think we all have to accept the fact we live in a world that is constantly changing and we need to be flexible enough to change with it. Being flexible doesn't mean jumping on every technological bandwagon that comes along, but incorporating useful technologies into your curriculum.
I think your coach analogy makes a lot of sense. Students often bring lots of energy to the table but are often in need of structure/method in their approach to learning, guidance in their decision making, and a disciplined way to channel their energy. This is what a good teacher can offer (among other things).
Posted by: Gerry | March 5, 2008 3:55 PM
This seems to be a pretty popular topic that comes up quite a bit. It is true that the younger generations will use technology more than the older generations, but as you pointed out, their knowledge will be focused in certain areas. However, many times the things they are using to communicate to one another can become main steam methods to do business. Facebook may have seemed like a meeting place for friends, but it is now a multi-million dollar advertising business. Having experience with more technology just means that the teachers and students will both gain more from their interactions.
Posted by: Nick | January 20, 2009 5:45 AM