EDPY401 Inquiry Project 

*Hi. I'm Chelsea Walmsley.  I am Middle Level Education major at USC, and I hope to teach math in the near future.  The video I chose from youtube focuses on how technology is changing the world we live in today.  It also poses the question,"How will we, as teachers, prepare students for life in the 21st century?"  My video response is an extreme example about how teachers seem to be stuck in older, traditional ways and resist technology.  Hopefully after seeing this ridiculously exaggerated example of resistance to technology and the students' reactions, you will be able to see how children today use technology almost 24/7 and teachers should embrace it.  I hope you enjoy it!

      "Stuck in the Stone Age"

       In Response to "Did you know?" 

        "Did You Know?"

     The 21st century has advanced in ways unimaginable to those from the 20th century.  Even those living in the 1980's cannot believe the leaps our world has taken in a mere twenty years!  Technology has gone from records to i-pods, books to the internet, telephones to cell phones, and maps to GPS.  These minor examples of technology shows that advancement is practically inevitable.  Technology does not just make life easier and more convenient for us lazy people.  It brings the world under one roof.  Those who cannot afford schooling, travel to libraries, see other cultures, and experience different lifestyles now have chances to be more worldly and well rounded because of technology.  "Did You Know" brings OLPC, the one laptop per child project, to attention.   By 2007, virtually every child on the plant will have access to EVERYTHING!  This gives each child an equal opportunity to be educated, but that is still not enough.  Teachers must "step up their game" when it comes to educating young minds.  Times have changed and still are changing.  Because of this fact, teachers must think of innovative ways to teach information that is not only new to the student, but may also be to the teacher.  Teachers are preparing students for life where literally ANYTHING is possible.  Whether or not that is cliche is irrevelant.  Teachers in the early 20th century prepared their students for life which involves space travel, curing diseases, and making clones!  If teachers had the technology we do today, imagine what they could have inspired in students like Ray Charles, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, and Martin Luther King Jr.  Since we have such amazing technology today, teachers should embrace it.  Technology bridges just about every gap, and what teacher does not want to be able to relate to his or her students?  Understanding students will also lower both the teacher and the students' cognitive load, relieving them of unnecessary stress. 

     Sternberg Triarchic method believes that environmental context, prior experience, and cognitive processes all affect a person's intelligence.  If students already spend hours on end using technology playing video games and chatting online, then they obviously have prior experience.  So, using technology in the classroom would give students a chance to "deal with a new situation by drawing on past experiences" (Ormrod 146).  Almost everyone in the 21st Century uses technology daily, so environmental factors also play a roll in the students' lives.  Technology also makes use of cognitive processes by "separating important information from irrelevant details and making effective use of feedback" (Ormrod 146).  Having the entire world at your hands is very useful!  Also, Vygotsky believes that "adults in a society foster children's cognitive development in an intentional and somewhat systematic manner" (Ormrod 34).  If the people educating do not foster use fo technology in classrooms, how can children be expected to successfully survive in the 21st Century?   

     Since our generation has been raised with technology so much, we obviously express much interest in it.  An average complaint from teachers is that they cannot seem to get their students to care about the lesson.  "Did You Know" shows that the number of students who spend hours on myspace alone is enough to make another country.  This fact alone shows that teenagers have great interests in communicating through technologically.  Imagine the knowledge that could be spread if our classrooms could communicate with others around the world!  We could see actually "walk a mile in others' shoes."  It's practically the same as pen-pals.  Our world is growing bigger every minute, and we, as teachers, are obligated to ensure the survival of those we encounter.  We can do this by preparing for the unthinkable and using what resources we have to encourage those around us.  Why use pen and paper when we can send e-mails?  This saves time and paper, which in turn helps the environment, a plus to our world turning greener each day.  Why do a long, seemingly endless calculation when a calculator can do the same thing in a matter of seconds?  These are only a few examples of how technology is beneficial.  When you have a question, what is the first thing you do?  You ask someone.  Well, what if you could ask the world and get millions of people's feedback?  Technology is the answer to so many of the world's problems.  "Did You Know" quotes Albert Einsteinin saying, "We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."  If Albert Einstein knew that we would need to change our way of thinking, then why would teachers resist ways of educating?  Think about it....

Things to do to Avoid Having Your Students say "You Suck"

1.  Show how lesson relates to real life

2.  Respect their time just as much as your own

3.  Be open to suggestions and new ideas

4.  Give students options (turn in paper or e-mail)

5.  Keep up with current technology/ advances in the classroom

Works Cited:

1.  Ormrod, Jeanne.  2006.  Educational Psychology: Developing Learners 5th Edition.  New Jersey, Ohio: Pearson/ Merrill Prentice Hall.

2.  Fisch, Karl.  "Did You Know."  Youtube.com.  June 2007.  YouTube.  14 Nov. 2008.  <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U>