On the topic of technology, there is a link to a review essay titled, "Is Stupid Making Us Google?" by James Bowman, published The New Atlantis: A Journal of Technology and Society.
In his review of several articles and books on the dumbing down of society and how students are increasingly unskilled at reading anything deeply, Bowman addresses the implicit operating value that learning must be fun:
But they are not likely to get either one so long as so many educators cling as they do now to the axiomatic belief not just that “learning can be fun” but that it must be fun, and the equally axiomatic rejection of that which may cause pain and humiliation, even if these are productive of real learning.Bowman asks: what are the products of frustration and discipline in learning that are different than the products of skimming and assembling?
The essay is a thought-provoking meditation on the habit of reading online to avoid reading in the tradtional sense and cites several recent sources on electronic culture and its impact on knowledge in an age of information-gathering.
Just some food for thought.
-Holly White
1 comment:
So true to the theme of Bowman's essay, I skimmed his essay to get the gist of it and to be able to post my reply here without fear I missed his point.
I think inherent in Bowman's position is that deep learning is predicated on the notion that we have to focus our attention on a single source, i.e. not skimming and flipping through sources, but rather reading fully those sources which address the information need at hand. I cannot say I entirely disagree...or agree for that matter. In our increasing digital, multitask-laden social environments, the students that are coming to us, and even us ourselves are so used to the fragmented nature of our digital technologies. It is changing how we react to and process information. And I believe education has to adapt to that. Its not about whether or not learning is fun...it is about the audience. How have they been enculturated? How have we learned in more casual settings based on our personal interests? How have we learned without knowing we have learned? And the answer to those questions is increasingly based on digital technologies that promote fragmented chunks of information.
So I agree, deep learning isn't taking place through reading, as reading has more "traditionally" been done through paper. But I cannot discount another type of learning that goes on from seeking out multiple sources of information and putting them together in ways that create deep meaning for the students. Digital technologies have begun to lean toward Web 2.0 where participants are no longer passive, they produce new content through modifying existing content, linking different streams of content, and adding their own. Not something that COULD easily be done in the old word of pen and paper. And these are seen as recreational fun activities. Integrating this into education does not mean we are here, or we have to entertain our students. It means we have to recognize how they learn...and how to best leverage THEIR accustomed learning tools with our goals as educators.
Sorry for the rant!
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