Media technology offers instant gratification. Decoding is made simple by visuals, graphics, hyper-links, and other navigational tools that make the learning experience far more interactive and interesting. I realize it is important for educators to embrace the multi-digital literacy experiences students come to the classroom with, or we as educators will become as extinct as the dinosaurs.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
wiki quest
Wikis are not as easy to use as blogs. My attempts to analyze why I felt frustration at setting up my wiki account and creating a page, stemmed from the fact when I first heard the term wiki in my ICT teacher development course I immediately thought of Wikipedia; the online encyclopedia. I wondered whether I, with my limited experience was expected to create a webpage like Wikipedia. The nervousness I felt was because I was outside my comfort zone. This discomfort led my to reflect on my own attitude to technology, and how it has impacted on my professional development. I have to admit, I have not been a frequent user of digital technology, the most basic; my cell phone is used on a need to use basis. I check and send emails infrequently, I use the computer mainly for its word processing application; mainly to type assignments, mid and end of term exams and write recommendations for students. I do not have a profile on Face Book, nor do I surf the Internet often. I recognize I have deprived myself and my students of exciting modes of teaching and learning experiences, that has the potential to revolutionize my curriculum delivery. My engagement and fascination with digital technology has opened my eyes to why many of my students are disenchanted with traditional text based literacy.
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Hi Donna,
ReplyDeleteWhen we did Wikis in class, I thought this was an exciting way to teach our students. However like you, I found that I was outside my comfort zone.i have a facebook account but I rarely use it. i am fascinated by the computer but time is a problem and learning some of the applications.Participating in this course has forced me to look at my digital skills.there is a joy as my confidence grows when I complete our digital activities and I am actually sharing with another work colleague who eagerly awaits my "new lesson." Such joy is refreshing.
I know that I mustkeep at it even though it can be frustrating at times. According to our lecturer, using the computer teaches us to be patient.It will take us a while to master these skills,but certainly we have to work at it.
Hi Donna
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am 'always' on my computer I have had the same experience as you with the wiki, in that, I was 'plenty' frustrated with the use of the wiki. Perhaps it is because I have not really paid much attention to it since we set up the account. I guess if we had an assignment that directly involved wiki the experience may have been different. I love the blog and in hind sight I wonder if it is because we were 'forced' to use it and therefore we had adequate practice. I am not sure of the reason. Nonetheless, I note what you said, it is imperative that we give our students a positive experience with the technology that they are accustomed to before we too become extinct.