When I was watching that video, I couldn't help but laugh just a little bit because I could relate to the different facts that the students were holding up. It seems as though all of that was true, I see people Facebook their way through class, I buy hundred dollar textbooks that I never open, etc..and it is proof that most of our learning comes from doing. So is a classroom necessary?
This is my reflection. While watching the video, part of me sided with the students. But then part of me couldn't help but wonder if getting a college degree with out stepping in a classroom made sense. I can 100% say that I learn better from doing, as this class is a prime example - but can everything be learned "hands-on?" I am gonna say no...I am a history major, I cannot go back to the Industrial Revolution and be with Andrew Carnegie in the steele industry, or walk with Booker T through his fight for African American education. That's why I have to read books about him and show my knowledge through a paper and get a better understanding than a chalkboard method.
Don't misunderstand me...technology is my friend, without it I'm not sure how I would function. I'm thankful for word processors instead of typewriters, and high speed rather than dial-up, but I do not think that EVERYTHING can be done on the web, and I do not think that classroom knowledge is a bad thing. A little re-vamping, yes, but extinction, absolutely not!
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Do you have (or have you had) any classes like the one portrayed by Wesch?
ReplyDeleteWhat about all of the videos that are available covering the historical periods (and others) that you mentioned? Can they be used to interest students in history who don't want to, or can't, "read books ... and show my knowledge through a paper"? Or should we reserve the study of history to those who like to read, do read, like to write, and do write? What do you think?
Good Point, I think that movies/films are very effective ways of portraying different time periods. Although movies are a part of technology, they are not has advanced as other forms so I guess I had just kind of cancelled that out. I have watched history films and it does put things in greater perspectives as far as an understanding. So, to answer your question, no one is excluded from learning any type of material. Videos are a great way of learning, but that is also a form of classroom teaching in a sense...so according to this video that I watched, would it be effective?
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