The transformation from the Industrial Age to the Knowledge Age has changed not only our educational system, but our basic way of life as well. Table 1.2 presented on page 14 really shows the challenges our students are facing. We have gone from being members of a small, family oriented community to being members of a global community that are all interdependent upon each other. As our basic needs have changed to adapt to new technology, our basic education needs to follow.
I actually could not choose just one quote from this reading because there are two opposing thoughts that needed to be addressed. The first quote I chose from the reading is “when you apply these skills to today’s knowledge and innovation work, you are participating in a global network in which, for example, a product may be designed in California, manufactured in China, assembled in the Czech Republic, and sold in chain stores in cities.” We can no longer teach students to simply remember what they learn. We need to teach students to be able to continue the learning process and be able to quickly apply their knowledge to new situations. It reminds me of the old Chinese proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
The second quote is “At the same time, the potential for information overload, distraction, and analysis paralysis when facing demands for attention from too many sources.” With the vast amount of information at our fingertips, overload is a concern. Even last unit’s video expressed this fact when students were averaging 26.5 hours of media time in each day—proof that multitasking is a way of life. As I stated in our Unit 2 discussion group, “ … Their attention spans seem so short, and their multitasking keeps them from really focusing on one topic in-depth. Therefore, we need to find a way to engage students in core content areas.” Students need to realize that all the technology at their fingertips are tools that can not only entertain them, but help them to learn and grow as well.
Methods to mesh the 21st century Skills and the "basics" which allow students and teachers to prepare for the global society are ever changing. There were references made about jobs of the future which don't exist yet and how we need to prepare our students. Students these days are at the tip of the iceberg with today's technology - it is changing rapidly.
ReplyDeleteI had never read about the Industrial Age moving to the Knowledge Age, but the labels made perfect sense. As I read the blog about students multitasking, I was thinking that perhaps we need to make sure that we stress quality, so that learning is more indepth and not shallow snip-its.
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