I'm going to go against a very heavy flow of CBC.ca commenters and say he's right. And this is coming from a guy who was until recently an avowed hater of cellphones, whose attitude towards them even now could be described as "indifferent at best." I own one. Occasionally I even remember to turn it on and carry it with me. But then I'm a 38 year old with the mindset of an octogenarian.
Most of the incredulity in the comments comes from people saying kids will be too "distracted" by their phones. As if kids aren't distracted without them. Take a teenager's cellphone away from her and chances are that's all she'll think about.
You can't fight technology, not once it's been embraced so lovingly by so many people. Better to make it work for you, rather than trying to work against it.
We've already got people agitating worldwide for Internet access as a basic human right. In some countries, notably Finland and France, this has gone so far as to be enshrined in law. Portability is the next logical step. I can see a time not very long hence when students are provided with cellphones in lieu of textbooks.
Don't laugh. I'm convinced it's now possible to get the equivalent of an advanced degree in many disciplines through judicious and extensive use of Wikipedia. If teachers would accept that their charges are going to surf, they can get down to the business at hand: tutoring them in how to surf safely and critically.
3 comments:
I agree with you Ken. I've seen first hand the difference between a boring "broadcast" lecture, where the teacher talks at the students, and an interactive lecture that involves things like clickers, laptops, slide-shows etc. In my experience the most effective lectures are those in which, surprise, students are engaged. Besides lets face it: the teachers have already lost the war against the cell phones. They should be doing everything in their power to use them for good, instead of failing to ban them outright.
I think you are right, the 'standard' way of learning (sitting in a classroom full of other humans) may not be the best way to learn, who knows. I think we at least need to challenge that old idea or maybe it's a mix of both but technology is defintely going to change education.
It is a conceptually interesting idea. But there are two other issues (other than the teacher's control of the classroom). 1) Not all smartphones/cellphones are created equal. Which leads to varying performance and ability to access content.
That leads to number two. Not all kids will have these infernal devices. I only have one, because work requires it. Otherwise there wouldn't be one in my home. I sure as hell ain't getting one for my kids. Other families it is a question of affordability.
Though these same issues can apply if/when laptops ever start being required equipment for high-school students. The difference between a Blackberry/iPhone and a NetBook is basically the screen size.
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