"I didn't enjoy school very much. Occasionally, I had a teacher who would inspire me. But as an adult, as I began working with computer technology to tell stories through film, I began to wonder, "Why couldn't we use these new technologies to help improve the learning process?"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-lucas/join-the-movement-to-tran_b_828962.html
What does this tell us about how succesful (or not) we have been about learning from psychology on how to teach?
I think that this shows that we haven't been too successful in teaching students. I feel that at first the teaching strategies probably worked well because they were new and certain students could only go to school. Those students were the more educated kids with better options to schooling and such. Today, many students, even some of the poorest, can attend school. All these students have different ways of learning now too, not all students learn the same. That is why I feel that it is important to start creating learning opportunities that are more suited for certain students. I know that this will take a lot of time and effort for the schools, but if it will increase the number of educated students and children, then I feel it is well worth the effort.
I think that this article shows both our success and failures about learning from psychology. It shows us the failure for people to want to change and adapt to newer styles of learning that have been proven more affective. It is a success because we are finally recognizing there is more ways than just mindless memorization of facts. Learning is not going to get any better for students if schools and the government does not invest and look into how kids learn and see that everyone is unique in their style of learning. If the education system does not adjust and learn from their mistakes childrens education will only decline. Of course, changing the system would always be easier if cuts were not involved which is making it harder for schools to provide quality education. It seems to be an endless cycle for this country.
I think that teaching students how to learn is more important sometimes than what you teach them. Once students graduate from high school or even from college, not everything that they learn is going to be applicable in every day life. Teaching them how to sort through information and think abstractly to draw conclusions is much more beneficial then just memorizing the information.
I think we have been somewhat successful, but any major change takes time. Yes, we definitely have room for improvement in different areas (especially the public education system). The public education system is a hard thing to collectively change because it is hard to get everyone on board with the same idea. Change with anything like that tends to be gradual.
" creatively and effectively use information to accomplish a goal"
That was my favorite quote in that topic. I completely agree with George on this topic. Education today isn't really practical, it is simply who can memorize the best. I think the purpose of education should be application of a talent or specific knowledge. We call that a career but are colleges really preparing us? I could say you could throw a completely lay person in a field and after awhile they would eventually adapt to learn. So what is the point of colleges? Obviously we cannot just let completely new people perform surgery and such, but at least giving some kind of practical experience is more helpful than making us memorize a bunch of information we will probably never use.
I agree with other people's comments on the fact that this article brings to light what we have accomplished as well as what we have failed at. I have often felt like school was just a bunch of memorizing what needed to memorized to pass through a certain stage in the learning process. There are so many things I 'learned' in high school that I couldn't possibly remember now because I was simply memorizing them to get by. I think by using technology more effectivly to understand the different styles of learning kids will benefit more out of their schooling rather than just passing through the motions to pass and get the diploma or degree.
I thought this was another interesting article. It has some valid points. Although we've revolutionized the way we interact (via facebook and internet) and learn random facts (google and ask.com) our schools still primarily teach out of books and through old fashioned ways. In terms of a college education I think that the way we learn differs from major to major. Personally psychology seems to be the most student-friendly learning environment, if only because we study learning. I know my boyfriend who is a business major is blown away by the concept of study guides, and knowing what the exam questions are before hand. In the last three years he's only gotten less than a handful of study guides for exams. This is exactly what the article is talking about. Spitting back information, making the education process an arduous and frustrating atmosphere. With all we've learned about teaching and all we have to supplement lessons, why wouldn't every educator take advantage of these? While I think we've learned a lot, there is still a lot to be desired, if only because some educators blatantly ignore innovations. Which is kind of sad for their students, I think.
I think sometimes technology can be confusing for our education system- think about the use of a computer at home. We use it to play games, facebook, watch videos- whatever. So I can understand why utilizing technology in a classroom may be confusing for a child since we aren't exactly raised to think of a computer as JUST a learning source. But the same can be argued for books. They are texts and they are fun filled adeventures.
I also think one of the reasons school are not adapting to technology fast is because of the teachers. I can't tell you how many times I've had to help one of my professors turn on the computer or figure out how to use the projector.
I agree that it is frustrating that education expects you to spit back information correctly, and to see things in black and white. Standardized tests make me want to pull my hair out.
I just don't understand that with all the advances we've made in society and all the things we know now about learning (for instance, we learn better in groups which is why I can't figure out for the life of me the PSYCHOLOGY building doesn't use round tables) we haven't made more advances in learning.
I think that teachers need to be extremely careful when implementing technology into the classroom. While there is certainly some benefits to instructing students on formal uses of technology, it could also be a HUGE distraction.
Technology in the classroom is the least of the worries that a teacher has in maintaining classroom order. One of the most difficult tasks however, is finding an effective method of teaching. As we know, a lot of the methods that teachers have including repetition and memorization don't work.
I thought this article was very interesting. It scares me to think how fast people want to get technology into the classrooms. I agree that it has its benefits and could really improve the teaching and learning of children, but I was recently informed that in Japan they have a computer teaching and working with kindergardeners once a day for an hour. With my major being education, that scares me. How soon are teachers in the United States going to get replaced. Am I going to school to become something thats only going to get replaced in a couple of years? For me, it's a scary thought.
Definitely agree with the opener. I rarely ever remember what I learned in classes that just required a bunch of memorization. I think that's one of the reasons Psychology was so interesting to me. I learn and REMEMBER a lot more in these classes because most of them involve hands on learning and also their is your Hybrid learning system that requires us to relate it with our everyday lives and express our OWN understanding of what we read and see. I remember much more from my Psych classes than I do from General courses that I took my first few years. Watching videos, getting into groups, and seeing power points all help increase memorization because it provides something that we actually DO and INTERACT in. We always remember what we DO and SAY, and SOMETIMES remember what we READ.
I own an iphone and I have a few "psychology apps" I've downloaded on there, and I must admit that I have learned quite a bit from those apps alone about psychology. This is just one small example of how technological changes can HELP improve learning and make learning more attractive to students, or anyone for that matter.