Technology in the classroom: part I
Marc Prensky (2001) makes a
difference when he names two generations. The one of humans which have spent their entire lives surrounded
by and using computers, video games, digital music players, video camaras, cell
phones and all the gadgets of the digital age and the other generations, the
ones that includes all humans born outside this gadgets frame.
To first generation he has provided
the N – gen, or the technology gen, or digital
gen. It causes a new reframing of generations, the DN which means digital natives. Everybody
else, the ones who were not born under the technology spell but have been
influenced, affected or enchanted by it, are called Digital Immigrants. It is
important to recognize these distinctions since we have to know who our
students are and come from.
In the same article Prensky provides
interesting statistics: “average college grad have spent less than 5.000 hours
of their Reading, but over 10.000 hours playing video games on top of 20.000
hours watching TV. Computer games, email, the Internet, instant messaging are
integral parts of their lives. He also mentions “their thinking patterns have
changed”.
Link to this article:
But let´s see first the definition of
technology. According to the oxford dictionaries technology is:
·
the
application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in
industry
·
advances
in computer technology
·
recycling
technologies
·
machinery
and devices developed from scientific knowledge
·
will
reduce the industry’s ability to spend money on new technology
·
the
branch of knowledge dealing with engineering or applied sciences.
Did you know that this word was
stated in early 17th century? It comes from the Greek word “tekhnologia” which means “systematic
treatment” If that is the case, we have been bombarded with technology since
the 17th century.
Let´s see what teachers have worked
with along centuries:
The telegraph: Samuel Morse - in 1837. This device he
invented was very small, and was used for communication. With this people were
able to spread news faster and hold long distance relationships/communications
with someone in a different city. They would transmit the message as a series
of dots and dashes called "Morse Code". Was this invention used for
educational purposes?, I am not sure, but I am positive the whole world was
influenced by it, specially diplomacy.
The radio: Experimental work on the
connection between electricity and magnetism began around 1820 (Hans Christian
Ørsted) André-Marie Ampère, Joseph Henry, and Michael Faraday continued to
experiment. The first systematic and
unequivocal transmission of EM waves was performed by Heinrich Rudolf Hertz and
described in papers published in 1887 and 1890. Has the radio affected
education?, Yes, of course and in so many
ways. Some educational programs are still on the air.
The Cassette: The Philips Company of
the Netherlands invented and released the first compact audio-cassette in 1962.
The next year in the U.S. sales began of
the Norelco Carry-Corder dictation machine that used the new cassette tape. The
consumer's demand for blank tape used for personal music-recording was
unanticipated by Philips. In 1963, Philips Electronics designed a new sound
recording medium - the cassette tape. Philips patented the new technology in
1965 and made it available free of charge to manufacturers all over the world.
Sony and other companies began designing new compact and portable tape
recorders and players to take advantage of the cassette tape's smaller size.
Compact Disk: In 1974, an initiative
was taken by L. Ottens, a director of the audio industry group within the
Philips Corporation in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. A seven-person project group
was formed to develop an optical audio disc. In March 1974, during a meeting of
the audio group, two engineers from the Philips research laboratory recommended
the use of a digital format on the 20 cm optical disc. It wasn't until 1977
that the directors of the group decided to establish a laboratory with the
mission of creating a small optical digital audio disc and a small player. They
chose the term "compact disc" in line with another Philips product,
the compact cassette. Rather than the
original 20 cm size, the diameter of this compact disc was set at 11.5 cm, the
diagonal measurement of a compact cassette.
Sony Walkman: In 1978, Masaru Ibuka
requested that Kozo Ohsone, general manager of the Tape Recorder Business
Division, begin work on a stereo version of the Pressman, the small, monaural
tape recorder that Sony had launched in 1977. Sony invented the compact and
extremely lightweight H-AIR MDR3 headphones for their new cassette player, just
50 grams with comparable sound quality. The name Walkman was a natural
progression from Pressman. On June 22 1979, the Sony Walkman was launched in
Tokyo. Journalists were taken to Yoyogi (a major park in Tokyo) and given a
Walkman to wear. According to Sony, "The journalists listened to an
explanation of the Walkman in stereo, while Sony staff members carried out
various demonstrations of the product. By
1995, total production of Walkman units reached 150 million and over 300
different Walkman models have been produced to date.
With this as an introduction, let´s start reflecting:
Questions to consider:
·
Did
the teachers in 1800s felt natives or immigrants to that technology?
·
Did
education evolve because of all these devices?, How?
·
What
do the teachers (digital immigrants) need to do to catch up with technology?
