Today in class we looked at what it truly means to teach a "digital native," or someone who has grown up with technology around them and grown up using technology.
The first step is to look at our own pedagogy, how do we teach and what it truly our teaching style. We have to find a way to teach digital learners in a way that will match both our pedagogy and their learning style. This is true of both face to face instruction and distance education.
Next we need to define what we are trying to do as a teacher, are we trying to instruct students, or are we trying to help students learn. To me, I believe that we should be focusing on learning, not just teaching. Learning takes information and gives it meaning, relevance and in sense, a life.
Web based courses are a great way to give students more opportunities in a rural school, or so that teachers can supplement their own teaching. Web based courses provide a lot of opportunities, as they are available on almost ever subject, so teachers can use them as a way to support their planning, they can use them to help students who are falling behind, help students who are taking an extended absence or in a rural division that does not have the same resources.
I am looking forward to checking out what is available through web-based courses, as this student teaching placement I will be teaching science for the first time, and must admit I am a little terrified. To know that there are resources available for me to use and things that are ready made, if I get stuck.
Overall, teaching students in this modern age, we, as teachers, have to be prepared to keep up with students, looking at how they want to learn and what they actually want to learn. We have to be prepared to be a part of the changing world, not yelling at the world to be the way we want, while we stand in our sinking lifeboat.
Hi Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteWell put post! I myself have little knowledge of teaching through WBC and have no personal experience with using it in school or during placements. I do agree that it has it's advantages and could never replace the physical richness of a classroom. I do think though, that if we get it as close as it can be a physical classroom, the amount of student success would be close to being the same, I've thought of how one could enhance the WBC and maybe if the teacher was to somehow make themselves available during certain times of the day to video conference, would be very beneficial with the student on the other end. They probably already do things like this, but that's just something I would consider doing if I ever happened to be in a position of teaching WBC.