John Dewey was such a brilliant thinker! I learned a lot about his philosophies throughout the course of my psych major. But, I never thought to use his work as an advocate for teaching with technology. It certainly makes sense! Rich et. al. drew some excellent connections, bringing Dewey's work up to modern day speed. I especially appreciated that Rich et. al. asserted that we cannot simply give students these cool technology tools and let them run wild and do whatever they want with them. He emphasizes that experience is central to learning... "learning by doing". I also love what Dewey has to say in his pedagogical creed about "What the school is". I whole heartedly agree with his belief that education is a social and psychological process. One without the other renders the educative process "haphazard and arbitrary".
The Google/Wikipedia article was so interesting! First of all, I didn't realize that I am part of Generation M?? Secondly, I never really thought about how we as students sometimes are willing to sacrifice credibility and reliability for a speedy and current answer. I admit that there have been many times when I have turned to Wikipedia when I needed a quick answer. I also thought the results of Farhad Manjoo's experiment was very interesting. "...the ability to discuss, negotiate, and share was more persuasive than being lectured by an expert." This is often so true... this article inspired me to be a bit more selective in what/whom I choose to believe. However, I still hold the ideas of my peers in high regard, and think Google and Wikipedia are pretty awesome :)
Hi, Hillary!
ReplyDeleteI was also surprised by the generation M thing. I always thought the younger generation was part of generation Y, the children of the youngest of the baby boomers.
It's very interesting that you've been exposed to Dewey in other classes. And now you get to see him in a whole new context!
And yeah...I may have turned to Wikipedia for a quick answer every now and then too. Shh! Don't tell anybody! They'll find out anyway because this is a public post. Hurray!
-Stephanie
Hello Hillary,
ReplyDeleteI have always found the articles on classics in Wikiped. to be pretty darn good. I NEVER cite them, of course, but they are indeed a great place to start. Regarding Gen M, never heard of it before. Makes sense. I fell between the boomers and Gen X, I think. I never felt that any catagorization typified me. I had nothing to do with Woodstock, nor would I have wanted to, and I predated the forces that galvanized Gen X. Oh well, like Rudolph and Shy Guy, I just don't fit in.
Best,
Monte
Could someone please enlighten me as to when we split Gen Y into M? Did I miss the memo? Is there some committee in say Oslo that ruminates on trends and psychographics to determine the line of demarcation? What does the M stand for, mercenary, mercurial, masochistic, what?
ReplyDelete