Blog Archives - Life Science with Mr. T

Knowledgeable in, Knowledge-ABLE Out

10/30/2016

``First off, I have to say - what an impactful talk that truly addresses some of the issues of standard educational systems in this time of rapid technological evolution! I think Wesch hits home when addressing how his university students don't find the topics in class relatable(zing!). It makes perfect sense that students today, who are so easily connected to information that they would feel the impetus to be involved in that interconnected world. The cold, disjointed and solitary classrooms of yesteryear seem archaic in the wake of open media, social media, and the genuine interactive drive of Web 2.0(and 3.0). I will say though, that this talk seems dated to me. Even within the past 6 years, the web has evolved dramatically and tools have changed beyond the types of communication Wesch describes. Students are increasingly familiar with the internet and with the proliferation of smartphones, we have seen a meteoric rise in applications for student involvement.

I see that students are taking advantage of these new applications and I hope to integrate these interactions within my classroom. From the side of science education, it would be foolhardy to ignore the wonderful work that students can be a part of through citizen science projects. Here, a something as commonplace as a smartphone becomes a tool for data collection that we can use to be active contributors to larger science projects. One example of something I plan to use within my future classroom is SciStarter, a website that serves as a hub for these citizen science projects. With my students contributing to real science in the world around them, not only will my class have greater engagement with the world around them, but they will feel a sense of purpose through the real work that they are doing. This type of involvement leads students to treat their interactions with technology not just as a passing tool or fad, but as something that can have implications in the greater scheme of human knowledge. Therein lies the ties to knowledgeability and the greatest challenge for tech-illiterate educators.

The transition from knowledgeable to knowledge-ABLE is happening simultaneously on both sides of the student-teacher dichotomy. Often, we will be learning from our students about the ways that they interact with the data they are generating and submitting to the internet. They already understand that they have much of recorded knowledge accessible online and our goals should be working WITH our students to discern the best ways to interact with this incredibly wide array of information. I believe that this methodology will lead to teachers that move beyond the one piece of technology they use year to year and will keep educators on the cutting edge - the systems that our students already use to converse.

Visitors and Residents

10/3/2016

I think each generation has its own set of differences and challenges compared to the last, but perhaps mine and the prior gen experienced a particularly significant leap in terms of internet technology. Having grown up with older parents, who often relied on me to master technologies in order to help them, I would say I have grown familiar and comfortable with online environments. Indeed, Dr. White might call me a ‘resident,’ that is, someone who is familiar with the internet in a way that they treat it as a connected set of individuals. This is opposing the view of a ‘visitor’ that is, someone who sees the internet as an arsenal of tools.
As a frequent roadtripper, this duality is easy to digest. When I’m visiting a new place, I’m not integrated with the community; I see the sights and have surface-level interactions. No trace of me but photographs and memories. Of course, as I visit some place more and more, I become increasingly integrated and recognized. Traveling throughout the internet is no different; some sites are just used as tools, but if you dig in, you become part of these connected communities and contribute to the co-mingling content. Might I say that Dr. White’s conclusions are somewhat obvious then? It isn’t all surprising that familiarity leads to greater understanding and the only way to build confidence is to practice.

If I were to place myself somewhere on this continuum, I’d have to ask, “For what site?” Limiting the idea of visitor or resident to the internet as a whole does not quite cut the mustard for me. Let’s take Facebook for example - I would say I am a regular upstanding citizen here, contributing and posting content constantly, but some competitive gaming forum might just be a tool to examine strategies, never participating in discussion. Whether these are conscious decisions or not, bridging that confidence gap will be important as an educator interacting with a wide variety of new educational tools.