Response to two visions of today's students

Two videos to respond to
A Vision of K12 Kids Today
A Vision of Kids Today

A Vision of K12 Kids Today

A Vision of Kids Today

Response

Create, analyze, evaluate, and apply.  Are these just words that children hold up on whiteboards to convince us to let them text and tweet in class, or are they something else?  They should resonate with current and future teachers, as these words are the exact ones that should appear in higher-level, high quality lesson objectives. 

Were teachers able to help kids learn to evaluate sources, create original works, and analyze data before new technologies came about?  Did the introduction of smart boards and wikis usher in a new age of successful teaching, leaving behind an era stretching back to the beginning of time when all teachers only lectured, focusing on coverage, and failed to achieve that impossible to define goal of understanding?

No.

Creating using a computer program is just an updated version of creating using construction paper and glue.  Are there benefits? Yes.  There is a level playing ground for students who do not possess strong scrapbooking skills but can use their computers as well as any other student. There are drawbacks too though.  Some students only have access to computers in school.  Can you assign a project that requires both a computer and more time than can be given in the classroom?  There are many questions.

One thing is certain from both of these videos.  Kids love technology.  They believe that the use of technology in the classroom is not only positive, but also essential.   Technologies often take a while to filter into a classroom, and by then students have already mastered and sometimes grown bored with the technology.   Having students already familiar with your chosen technology is optimal, and it seems that students are willing to oblige by forging ahead of education and trying every new technology themselves first.

A last point – both of these videos were created using a basic video camera, pens and paper/whiteboards.  While they featured images of new technology, and were shared on youtube, they were creations using technology that is older than any of the students in the videos.  Sometimes it is not how new a technology or project is that engages students, but the freedom to create that does.  While new technologies often are more interactive, with a little creativity and a little more time invested, teachers can come up with projects that allow students to create, analyze, evaluate and apply using what they are learning.