Nov 22 2010
DLG 10
Ecology is the study of the interactions between all organisms within an ecosystem. Every organism must fill a niche for it to be beneficial to the ecosystem.
Dr. Zhao suggests that the role of teachers will need to change with the development of digital media. Majority of people think that teaching is a human enterprise, and computers are just tools.
Zhao suggests that this thinking needs to be changed — teaching encompasses many tasks, and some of these tasks might be better performed by machines than humans.
Do you believe that teachers can co-evolve with machines and what might be the role of a teacher in the new digital age?
Is there are any needs not being filled in education today and how do you see technology fulfilling
these needs?
How can the fulfilling of these needs change your classroom environment?
I have read a few comments and it has led me in a different direction. I think that teaching and technology can be merged and can work symbiotically, but that the co-evolve sounds a little foreign. Teachers should embrace technology as that is where we are heading.
I think that technology has the potential to help students with special needs and will allow them to succeed at a higher level. I think that students will also find that the use of technology will allow them work more efficiently and will improve their grades. Students will be more prepared for the workforce by using technology in the classroom.
Using the definitions provided by Carolyn Merchant, how would you define the existing narratives (a “progressive” narrative, a “dissident, declensionist” narrative or is there an ethic of partnership) within your workplace?
In which of these camps would you place yourself?
Is it different from your workplace? Why or Why Not?
Thinking about your experiences since beginning the MET program, has your narrative changed camps?
How have the discussions presented during this module challenged or changed your thinking?
Thinking about all the modules so far in MET 511 and other courses in the MET program, please discuss what insights have you gained and how helpful your new knowledge will be in approaching and negotiating the factors affecting technology use in your schools.
I see myself as progressive but there is those in my school who are more declensionist. I feel that this balances the school out and allows for us to really see all points of view.
I don’t think I have “changed camps” but have discovered I had a camp! MET has allowed me to focus on what is important to me in my teaching career and fine-tuned my once jumbled thoughts. I feel that MET has brought about a sense of clarity in my thinking, but it hasn’t changed it in any real way.
I think this module, 511, and other classes has shaped my thoughts and allowed me to focus on the direction I want to take in the future. It also restored and created passion I didn’t know was lost or there in the first place.
I feel excited to take my knowledge from MET and promote a constructivist classroom with technology aiding in student success.