Week of 09/01
Every day before class begins, your teacher tells you to turn your cellphone off or on silent so as not to distract the class. But now, with more and more children using cellphones, teachers are finding it difficult to keep students from using them from right under their noses. Educated as they are, teachers are now saying, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."That's right, what students used to use as entertainment during 8-hour school days is now being used for learning exercises in the classroom. Teachers are embracing the use of cell phones as a learning gateway for hands-on/virtual activities.
Some high schools and universities believe in this concept so much that they are handing out Apple's 3G Iphones (or smartphones) to incoming freshman who do not already own one. Teachers can use these phones to record attendance, send out virtual/eco-friendly handouts, and create games to coincide with their lesson plans (through an HP application called Mediascape).
But has this technology gone too far? Or have we just opened up the doors to unlimited creativity?
Are we focusing too much on how to integrate technology into education that we have lost sight of the education itself? Or will students truly benefit from this new medium?
I guess the only way to find out is through observation and experience of the technologically-equipped generation. After all, experience told us that nuclear energy wasn't the brightest of ideas, but sending a man to the moon was extremely beneficial.
To learn more, read about it: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2008/tc20080827_832352.htm
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