Thursday, February 16, 2012

Ranting Like Nancy Grace

Recently, I worked with a student (who was NOT in BGISD), who was working on a project for a social studies class in 9th grade.  The 9th grader was to create a poster board about a country.  The student cut out pictures from the internet, drew a flag, and used rubber cement to paste the pictures and letters on the poster board.  Here is my rant:

  1. It took an enormous amount of time to cut the pictures, letters and then glue the paper on the poster board.
  2. Rubber cement was all over the student and his work area
  3. The student did not have any real interest in the project and just wanted to get it over with.
  4. I could not recognize any real 21st Century Skills utilized in the project
  5. I hope this student does not get a job cutting out paper and gluing it on a poster board.
  6. It appeared there was little opportunity for any creativity.
  7. This student had a macbook, ipad, ipod touch, dell pc, toshiba laptop, hd video camera, and a plethora of web 2.0 sites at his disposal, but used scissors, markers and rubber cement.
  8. I have not noticed any doctor, lawyer, judge, plant manager, accountant, banker, nurse, fireman, policeman, radiologist, and so on who has recently cut out paper and glued things together.  My bad...doctors are using "glue" to seal cuts and such...
So, that is my Nancy Grace rant.  Here is the thing:
  • The National Education Technology Standards for Students can be found at this site.
    • Communication and Collaboration
    • Creativity and Innovation
    • Research and Information
    • Critical Thinking
    • Digital Citizenship
    • Technology Operations
  • We are preparing students to be successful in the workforce; not only to "live" for the test.
  • We have at our fingertips almost anything we can dream.  "Star Trek" concepts are here.
  • At the very least give students options when creating projects.
  • Project-Based Learning should have an acceptable window to complete the task and there should be some freedom in how the project is designed.
I am sure this will create some disagreement...That is ok.  My job is to share ideas and get teachers and students to take chances with using technology.  The World is changing; we have to adapt and be leaders in how technology can help engage students.

Please make some comments.  Would love to hear your thoughts.  


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3 comments:

  1. HannahFebruary 16, 2012 at 7:55 AM

    I agree, this project sounds like busy work - and our educational opportunities are too precious to waste on busy work. Yet another reason why collaboration among teachers and librarians is so important - a good librarian working with a teacher on creating this assignment could have suggested online resources, databases, and online collaboration tools that students could use (how about Skyping with a native of the assigned country?) to make this project one that utilized 21st century skills regardless of the format.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownFebruary 16, 2012 at 8:01 AM

      I like the skyping with the country idea. with skype in the classroom it is very possible. I agree that more teachers should work more closely with their Library Media Specialist...

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  2. LaineFebruary 16, 2012 at 10:31 AM

    The kind of project the student had to do was the kind of project that I would have gotten in Jr. High (the early 90's). It is a shame that the student's teacher did not feel comfortable enough to break out of his/her routine. I agree with your rant Allen. We need to see technology as an integral part of our lives, in school and out of school. I bet that teacher doesn't come to school in a horse and buggy, and probably not even an early 90's model of anything. Change is good.

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