My first thought was “how silly” but as I continued to watch I realized that the student was expressing his view about the textbook. The video became funnier as I watched the remainder of the clip.
Technology has advanced so much that students are actually bored if they have to sit and read a book. Some students expect to have the same technology available at school that they have at home or is available at other locations outside of school. Joe mentioned in the beginning of the video clip that the book was a foreign tool...it is quickly becoming one. Digital readers, such as the Kindle, are eliminating the need for hard copy books. Digital readers can hold up to 200 titles. Once books and/or magazines are uploaded, they are digitally displayed and the pages can be changed by sliding the scroll bar or pressing the “next” button. With digital books, users can bookmark pages, add notes and search the pages for specific passages. Joe tried to double-click on pictures, words, and text within the textbook, which was not possible. With digital readers and other electronic devices (iPad, iTouch, computers, etc), you can simply click on the word, photo, text and/or hyperlink to obtain additional information.
Students and society in general want information instantaneously simply because technology affords us the opportunity to have it that way. The down side to this great technology is that we are losing a lot of the basic things. For example, if the power goes out for an extended period of time, many of the tools that we have come to rely on would not be available for use. As a child going through school, if the power went out I was still able to complete my homework assignments because there was a dictionary, thesaurus, a set of encyclopedias, and other reference materials available for use. Unlike today, I had to write all of my assignments because I had no typewriter (foreign tool), word processer or computer. Things have changed a lot.
I would have to agree with you 100%. I think technology is a very powerful tool that can be utilized in so many positive ways. However, I sometimes feel that students rely too much on technology in a sense that they almost become lazy. If the answer does not just ‘pop up’ instantaneously, they get frustrated and do not know what to do next. I also find that students take the outputs of technology as ‘gospel’. They think that just because they found an answer on the internet or they typed something into their calculator, that they solution that is given is true without a doubt. They sometimes forget that the technology is only as intelligent as the data that is put into it and the user that is using it!
ReplyDeleteI appreciated your comments, especially the part about how the video got funnier as you thought about it. I have the same experience when I first saw it. Good job!
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