As mentioned many
times in most of my previous posts, technology plays a very important role in
our society and in education. This trend is impregnating our schools and it is
becoming one of the major teaching methods. It is also becoming the center of
future educational goals. Current learning standards, the use of standardized tests
and their credibility, along with current views of the important goals in
education are been reviewed. In the near future, classrooms will be transformed
from the usual picture, of a bunch of students sitting behind a desk waiting to
be filled with information and strategies to achieve a decent score in standardized
tests, to a revolutionized setting in which social and meaningful skills for
adulthood readiness predominate.
These changes may take years to
occur, but they are currently being reviewed. Classrooms are affected by
teacher’s use of materials and pedagogy. The type of instruction used by
teachers affects children’s learning. This includes the way teachers focus
their attention on tests rather than preparing their students for future “real
life” challenges. Another factor that affects experiences in children is the
use of technology. Learning should be nourished in a social, active, and
reflective setting. Most of these are lacking in our schools today. Luckily,
with the review of current educational goals changes may be made to create ways
in which technology will complement education as an affordance. This means that
technology may play a role in education as a “possibility for action” (Affordances
of Second Life for Education, Cunningham & Harrison).
Technology as an affordance in
education means that teachers will find ways in which they can take advantage
of technological tools, modify their uses, and fit them into their curriculum
in ways that will help students develop skills. The article “Affordances of Second
Life for Education emphasizes the use of technology in the classroom as a way
to enhance communication and collaboration. Another advantage, or affordance of
it, is to offer simulations in which students can acquire skills in different
settings. These types of experiences can be practiced with the virtual game
Second Life. This game, as well as many other technological resources, can be
modified from their original goal to be used as educational tools. One of the
uses that came into my mind after reading about this game was that it might
help students with special needs. This game could be a way in which students
who need a wheel chair can explore the digital world and feel at the same
physical level as their classmates. This is only one idea but there could be
other benefits for children with special needs. Other technologies that can be
transformed into affordances are digital gaming, Facebook, Ebooks, Blogs, etc.
The idea is to mold them and make them fit in our classrooms as teaching
resources.
These affordances, like many other
things, have their cons. These can be referred to as constraints. Technological
constraints in terms of education mean barriers, or downfalls, in the use of
these affordances as teaching methods. For example, some of the constraints of
Second Life as a teaching tool could be the accessibility to other “islands”
within the game that could not be age appropriate. There could be other
constraints about this and other technological tools. That is the reason why
teachers should be well informed and be familiar with whatever technology they
will be introducing to their students. This could be a way to prevent or
diminish constraints of technology in terms of education.
Other Resources:
- Patient Stimulation in Second Life video offers a good example of how this virtual "game" can be applied to education (nurse training).
- Try second life and find out new ways of incorporating it into your classroom.
- Other affordances include the use of ebooks and stories read aloud.
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