I recently came across this post that talks about the University of Missouri seeking to make the Apple iPhone a requirement in some of their classes (specifically for the journalism students).
I love the idea – as long as it is thought the whole way through.
I am involved with a Secret Evil Plan in order to make class something OTHER than dead boring and at the same time actually TEACH something so that others can go out and create their own Secret Evil Plans. I have some collaborators who are also working on this plan with me and one day (hopefully soon) we’ll be able to reveal all, but for the moment we are still building…
Anyway, my point is that in the process of reassessing the way in which I teach my classes, and through asking my students to engage in the design process with me I have learnt a few lessons about good educational design:
- If you include ‘new technology’ it had better work.
- If you include ‘new technology’ it better have a purpose
- If you don’t have a good reason for doing something, don’t do it. The students deserve more than half thought-through attempts at ‘being relevant’
- Most students are bored. They don’t engage because they can’t be bothered. This is Not Their Fault – it’s up to us to earn their attention and keep it.
- If you are thoughtful about what you teach and challenge students to be deliberately creative with the material, most will rise to the challenge.
- Learning is not remembering.
- Knowledge is not power. Knowledge + Creativity + Desire to Change Something + Action = Power.
So while I applaud the University of Missouri for trying to be ‘now’ when it comes to the introduction of technology into their classrooms, if they haven’t thought all the issues through (including pedagogy – the how of teaching and how that relates to the what of teaching) then the iPhones are unlikely to help much.
We’ve moved from blackboards to whiteboards, to electronic whiteboards, to screen projections, to laptops and now to iPhones. A new technology is, undoubtably, just around the corner. The real trick is to be thoughtful about how and what we teach; to consider the students as co-learners and co-creators of knowledge who are HUNGRY to make a difference.
Examples of bad teaching are everywhere. Let’s reshape the discussion.
If you have had a positive experience with a teacher/lecturer/professor/educator who has really worked hard to help you to achieve your best, write in and let me know. We want to hear these stories. Who knows, maybe we’ll let you in on our Secret Evil Plan.
JD
