Resistance of Online Education
I believe the main cause for the resistance of using technology for educational purposes is the wildfire growth of the Internet. Because it has grown so quickly, without any formal filters or barriers, it has gotten out of control and received a bad reputation.
Someone in the Tuesday discussion (sorry I don’t remember your name) mentioned a professor that wouldn’t allow students to use the Internet. This struck a nerve with me. In today’s world, telling someone they can’t use the Internet is like telling someone they can’t use the encyclopedia or almanac. It’s a legitimate resource. You just need to know how to disseminate the treasure from the trash. Due to the horror stories in the media, the term “Internet” has taken on a negative connotation. Many libraries have started using the term “online access” to focus more on the educational and research capabilities. This seems to have helped sway people’s opinions, at least in regards to using Internet access as a means to retrieve databases, etc.
We need to re-educate everyone on what the Internet has to offer. Easier said than done, I know. Many teachers and professors are resistant to change. I believe teachers need to be a role model for their students and be lifelong learners. However, it’s so easy for us to get stuck in a rut. I consider myself open-minded, but even I discover I sometimes resist change.
As a technology trainer, I try to use those moments to remind myself that if I get frustrated over a software change, what must go through the minds of my colleagues who are computer novices? So, I just try to put a positive spin on things and get them involved in new technologies. I’ve found it helps to teach them things that they can use to improve or enhance their personal lives. Then, they catch the fever and are more apt to share it with others: students, peers, etc.
11 comments so far:
Bruneu7 says: Webophobia and progress
As I read my mind goes back to a memory of a teacher telling a student, "Don't to that! You will mess up the whole Internet!" I think one of the reasons why young people learn these new technologies relatively easily is because they are relatively fearless. They also have been spared some of the things we struggled with prior to "plug and play" technologies. Do you remember SCSI devices, which was said to mean, "still can't see it?"
Keith Hamon says: People always Lag Technology
I think this points to an important fact about new technology: there is always a lag between the adoption of new technology by people and the concomitant shift in the social and mental habits of those people. We typically try to use new technology in old ways, because that's what we can imagine to do with it. It always takes some time before our imaginations can catch up to the technology, and all so often, the technology changes us in ways that we simply could not predict. The US interstate highway system, for instance, was originally begun mostly as a military initiative to enable the movement of troops and materiel in case of war. Who could have predicted it would lead instead to suburban sprawl, McDonald's, and mega churches?
sjhcooper says: Don't forget...
Don't forget...we owe thanks to the military for creating the Internet too! LOL
sjhcooper says: I agree! I think one of the
I agree! I think one of the main reasons that teachers get stuck in the old methods is because consciously or not, we model our teaching methods on our former teachers. After all, they are the ones who inspired us to teach in the first place. And they probably did the same, and so on, back to the Little House on the Prairie days.
Society has drastically changed since then, but the teaching methods really haven't. We need to figure out why and break free from this vicious cycle before we can move forward with a real purpose and destination in mind.
Thomas Clancy says: resistance to learning
Stephanie, would "things that they can use to improve or enhance their personal lives" be something like Google Reader and Diigo, or something more everyday (non-academic)? Key to such an introduction, I believe, would be a sense of exploring, of having fun, of experimentation--the same feeling that we all (re-)discovered the first time we found ourselves surfing the Internet from link to link into early morning hours.
The same goes for revolution in the classroom. Our earliest memories of learning remind us that it is a product of "play," of personal engagement and enjoyment. When "work" can be re-fashioned and re-designed to include a component of creativity on the student's part, when students decide how they can fulfill learning objectives, then actual learning can happen.
We need to see an affirmation of learning theory that complements and supplements the amazing new freedoms that technology has brought us.
sjhcooper says: Tom, I think both the
Tom, I think both the academic and non-academic will work. Who would have considered Twitter as an academic program? Yet, many people have used it successfully in the classroom. As long as we can find an educational and innovative way to make the non-academic apps work in the classroom, why not go for it?
Doc says: speed of change
I'd agree that the relatively fast speed of change vis-a-vis technology, including the Internet and associated online learning, exacerbates many people's ability/willingness to internalize and incorporate such technology in their daily functioning. But most people can adapt to change, if given a sufficient period of time. E.g., the Wright brothers first flew in 1903 and it took until 1969 to get a man to the moon. However, the Interent as we know/use it today is only about 15 years old, and yet look at the changes it's wrought already. Try to contemplate its impact by the end of another 15 years. People can get used to technology over time, and as the technology itself gets easier to use (case in point are "taping" a TV show using VCRs vs. DVRs).
sjhcooper says: Exactly! If we keep our toes
Exactly! If we keep our toes in the water for the current technology and technological trends, it won't be as scary when new opportunities arise. We are just now seeing the full potential of what we can do with today's applications and hardware. Only our imagination will limit the future trends that we can engage in.
kempedmonds says: Great post & insights
Accurate assessment of the challenge and some important observations there. Especially: showing them how it will improve or enhance their personal lives and the need to demostrate to students, by example, the importance of lifelong learning.
bnleez says: Media with a purpose
I agree. In order for teachers to consider anything new, there needs to be a perceived purpose at the individual level. If a teacher does not see a good reason for implementing a new practice (with or without the use of technology), they will be less likely to change. Teachers also need to have certain strategies that can help them through the change process. This is where modeling comes into play. Finally, particular concepts need to be framed in certain contexts that teachers relate to. It's one thing to talk about purpose and strategies related to a new practice, but it needs to be specific enough where teachers can relate these to their given discipline.
Bruneu7 says: Modeling media with a purpose?
I am not sure the meaning of modeling in this context. Do you mean leading by example (mentoring) or are you referring to some sort of visual representation of what the goal of change includes? Bruce