Monday, January 18, 2010

Week 2 - Neomillenial User Experience...

Readiness to Learn: As a person matures, his readiness to learn becomes oriented
increasingly to the developmental tasks of his social roles (Baird and Fisher, 2005).

This statement is a critical element in moving education into the technological age. Having taught high school, the fight to keep electronic devices out of the classroom is a losing battle. Why not incorporate them into the studies? High School students are somewhat defined by the electronics they own, the social networks they frequent, what they find (and place) on YouTube, etc. Why not embrace this technology and adapt to each student's "Readiness to Learn" and create an electronic learning environment?

For instance, some High School PE courses require keeping a journal regarding daily fitness and nutrition. Why not encourage each student to create a weblog instead? The desired outcome would be reached and, by incorporating technology thus appealing to his/her social role, more students would have a "Readiness to Learn" from this updated type of journaling.

3 comments:

  1. ah... such a great idea. I have been trying to get my Tennis Team on board with a fitness and eating routine. They have not been writing it down. But making the assignement more fun will work. Have them create their own blog and use that as their journal, they can share with each other and I can make sure the job is getting done. Thank you, very helpful... Rebecca

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  2. Kara,
    You have a solid point about students making a weblog regarding daily fitness and nutrition. A couple of semesters ago, I took a nutrition course. As part of the class requirement we had to keep a 4 week food log of everything that we consumed. This log offered personalized eating plans, and assessed food selections based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. I found this type weblog to be extremely helpful, and it really makes me think about the necessary foods I really should be putting into my body. I recommend you checking out the website: http://www.mypyramid.gov/index.html (there is also a log to access daily fitness activity).

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  3. Kara,

    I think the overriding issue is the ability of our education system to change with the times. Our school, too, frowns upon use of personal electronic devices by students. We need to embrace this concept and make it a part of the educational experience. Teaching our students to organize their electonic files instead of their binders would provide greater benefits for them in the future. I could only imagine how much cleaner my desk would be.

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