http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JVER/v25n2/lynch.html
Not sure if anyone is interested in this, but the article "High School career and Technical Education for the First Decade of the 21st Century" by R.L. Lynch is quite interesting. I've used it quite a bit in the paste and it fits in nicely here. It talks about students not only being able to use technology, but to be able to use in contexts (problem solving, analyzing data, interpreting info) in the workplace. The need is there for us to be "teaching" this in our programs. Don't get lost, vocational education is now called technical education ( my pharmacy technician program). The article talks about four forces underlying the need for reform. Watch out, it's an American Article, but it sure worked well for me. It talked about how nearly all highschool students planned to attend post-secondary programs, but that few did and of these,2/3's dropped out. A real disconnect as JoAnne would say. The times for change is hear and passing us by, so the need to recognize what technology can do is major. Like the Disrupting Class review said, we need to use and teach our students how to use technology to it's fullest and most effective extent. For me, baby steps arn't so bad though. darcy
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Those are some scary statistics you quote in this blog about post-secondary attendance. Do you see some applications for using technology to improve the situation? Some suggestions for baby steps?
ReplyDeleteAs teachers we often feel like we have to show how to use new technology. We share in helping other teachers but don't always share the workload with our students. We can learn alot form our student in terms of technology.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting aticle in the fact that they addressed the underlining issue of 'what is the purpose of high school?'.
ReplyDelete"The learner needs to be able to make sense of the workplace and its context within that person's life. It isn't just "training" for specific jobs that is needed, but to make decisions, solve problems, find answers, and draw on a variety of disciplines and cultural contexts to make sense out of changes, challenges, and day-to-day operations at the workplace."
I have addressed this issue my students, inquiring if they believe school should be a preparation for the workplace. In saying that why is not mandatory for schools to offer vocational and technical classes for students not interested in college. In my own school setting this could be addressed through the use of technology, although we may not have the experts to teach hands-on, we can access the knowledge through Web 2.0. Do you think that your program could implement technology in transfering knowledge? Would it be faster and more convenient for the learner?
Technology is indeed the tool and using web 2.0 could be an asset in keeping students in high school and teach them or support them with what they want to do after high school. Many students who live in a small northern community would rather do things that enables them to get a job in any entrepreneurship fields. Many students who finish high school don't look forward to going to college, if they can get a job, they would choose to work.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right about taking baby steps with technology, there are always so many changes taking place, not only in technology but with other things such as curriculum it sometimes feels like we're in a whirlwind. Cheryl
ReplyDeleteIf education is going to reform it is not going to be some cataclysmic event. Any reform will be piecemeal at best. This is not necessarily a bad thing, at least something is happening. A few things do emerge from reading the article.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the purpose of high school? This is an elusive question. The business world would say it is to acquire necessary skills to enter the workplace. Academics would say it is to gain a liberal education...learning for the sake of learning. When we talk educational reform we are not all necessarily headed in the same direction. This is one reason public education has difficulty undergoing any substantive reform...the ship is pulled in a variety of directions sometimes with no clear sense of purpose.
Will technology set you free?
Technology is a great tool and for a large number of students it provides an excellent medium for learning regardles of what philosophical learning theory you have adopted. However, some students will not embrace technology regardless of the lure it has for learning. I presently have students who want nothing to do with a computer let alone technological applications. Technology will not reach all students, unfortunately that is a fact of life.