Learning needs people to read, interpret and evaluate all information and then challenge its validity. It is in the challenging, of that information, that allows the evolution of thought and knowledge occurs. We grow via the information that we acquire and store, the information that can be recalled at the instance that is needed. When someone allows themselves to be immerged in reading anything, whether it be on or offline, they allow themselves to experience the process in which knowledge is gained. It is the user that appears to get in their way. The user chooses what to click on, what bores them or even what keeps their attention. Choice is a factor, it is the choice of the user to function highly when using the internet or just assign the role of entertainment to the computer. Most users have assigned an entertainment role to the computer so when they sit down they desire an entertaining experience. When people are no longer entertained they move on to something that will entertain them.
When scouring the internet I found this incredibly vague description of what the internet is:
Since the advent of written language, tools have been used to enhance and control human communication. The invention of the printing press made communication via the written word on paper documents practical. The telephone, television and radio have had the same kinds of effects on visual and auditory communication. Modern office tools such as voice mail, pagers, and fax machines have done much to change communication, but the bulk of business communication has still been paper documents. As you may be aware, the advent of the Internet has the potential to change the way we communicate in some fundamental ways. We cannot watch the news without hearing a story about the Internet. In one story we hear evangelical praise of the technology that will change everything for the better, and in the next story we hear about the abundance of smut, filth, crime, and other dangers it forces upon us. We need to understand what the Internet is and what it isn't. It is a very real part of our present and future. It will not go away any time soon. The effects it may have on us are profound. Our level understanding of this phenomenon will be the difference between whether it controls our actions or we use it as a powerful tool to advance our personal ideals.
In 2003, the article Redefining the Role of Computers in Education by Neil Mercurius tries to explain the role of the internet in education. During this definition he also interjects a concern in which it could have upon the student using the internet.
Electronic Learning or e-Learning is reinventing the way people learn. The desk, the chalkboard, the paper and pencil, and the knowledge-giver no longer dominate the classroom. The Internet is the biggest influence. When delivered via the Internet, the vendors' curricula can personalize learning. Any student can use the computer as a medium through which the access of information and resources manifest itself as the supernatural agency.
The Internet is dynamic. Up-to-date information on MSN or Yahoo portals, for example, is as current as the click of the mouse. For the Internet to continue to be effective and efficient in delivering current information into the classroom, schools must incorporate clear goals, objectives, and long-term strategic plans to create the best method of delivering of the information to teachers and students. However, the content requires constant monitoring by educators to be certain that content is appropriate and synchronized with the goals and objectives of the institution.
In addition, the Internet shrinks the globe. Collaboration extends from the classroom to distant places; information is global. The ability to link multiple resources worldwide is an advantage of the Internet. It creates the avenue for an integrated curriculum, thus providing individualized learning modules for all learners.
In 2009, some of these issues are still at play. Many of them are now being amplified by other media formats that are popping up all over the net. Many of these websites contain hyper links that will link to new and similar sites. Advertisements that “pop up” while one is engaged in the reading can distract someone as well.
Young students, when given an assignment in my class reading an article online, gave the following testimonials:
“I found it very difficult to read the article on line because I kept going to Facebook.”
“I was distracted by the advertisements on the side of the page and could not keep focus for more than a couple of minutes at a time.”
“It was boring and I stopped reading.”
Students are used to be entertained by what they do in all facets of life. Whether it be through the ipod,stuck in their eas, the cell phone, with friends at a push of a button, on demand programming and the internet kids are bombarded by the me universe that they live in. When they begin to feel sad, or at all uncomfortable they can go to their Facebook page and be reafirmed that they are okay by a slew of "Friends" validating their mediocrity through responses to their staus updates. To be challenged and tested by the bombardment of the information the internet has to offer only intimidats students and makes them feel like dwarfs in a world of giants. That feeling is one they spend 8 hours a day trying to escape, at the end of the day they no longer want to be made to feel stupid so they continue to protect themselves in a world that exists within their control.
No comments:
Post a Comment