Michael Wechs’s video “a few ideas…” attempts to show things from the student perspective and presents statistics to back it up. The main criticism levied at the education system is the idea of objective testing and the regurgitation of facts. Students spend a lot of time in class on social media or playing video games because they do not feel that the time they spend in class is well-spent. I am inclined to agree with much of this. Curriculum needs to be developed so that students don’t just learn facts, but skills and literacies that they will need beyond school. This is sorely missing, especially in many social studies departments, which still seem to think that knowing who Erich von Ludendorff was is somehow beneficial to students. So there’s really nothing new to me in this video; it’s just a gimmicky way of re-stating what we’ve seen in this credential program for the past six months.
On the other hand, JTHS EdTech’s “Transforming Teaching and Learning with an Authentic Audience” does present new ideas. Students don’t want just feedback from teachers; they want it from peers, too. Cross-class blogging is one way to tap into that. Teachers can provide the necessary feedback to get things right and develop skills, but feedback from peers is also helpful and in my opinion, can also provide the form of social validation that teenagers crave (and teachers cannot provide). Students will also be motivated to put forth a better effort when they know that their work will be seen by a larger audience and not just the instructor.
Both videos are below.
On the other hand, JTHS EdTech’s “Transforming Teaching and Learning with an Authentic Audience” does present new ideas. Students don’t want just feedback from teachers; they want it from peers, too. Cross-class blogging is one way to tap into that. Teachers can provide the necessary feedback to get things right and develop skills, but feedback from peers is also helpful and in my opinion, can also provide the form of social validation that teenagers crave (and teachers cannot provide). Students will also be motivated to put forth a better effort when they know that their work will be seen by a larger audience and not just the instructor.
Both videos are below.
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