Sunday, July 26, 2015

EDU 6250 Article 3



Stillar, B. (2012). 21st Century learning: How college classroom interaction will change in the decades ahead. International Journal of Technology, Knowledge, & Society, 8(1) 143-151. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.cod.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=3013d9e6-1e80-43f4-9ff4-54af2683e38d%40sessionmgr113&hid=128&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=91544679.

This particular article was written to discuss the changes that are occurring specifically in the college classrooms.  Although college education is influenced by many of the same factors as public education, the college classroom may be affected by these influences in a drastically different way.  The standards, expectations, and student population undergo a very significant change from the high school level to the college level. Since the implications of advances on college classrooms vary from the public education spectrum, it is important to investigate these changes separately. 
               Often curriculum and education changes apart from technology, based on societal needs, but a large factor recently in how lessons are taught are driven by the new technologies available for the classroom.  This article focuses mainly on the changes that are related to the increase and advancement of technology.  Because technology is so prevalent, many people are encouraged by their businesses to seek additional training to support their job.  This leads the college to develop classrooms and environments that suits the needs of professional seeking certificates or advanced training.  Because employers are looking for specific skills, it often drives college to provide a very specific course on a flexible schedule so that people who work can complete the class, and directly apply it to their profession.  Employers and colleges will see an increase in communication to ensure that the college offers the services needed by specific employers.  Technology is the key in allowing flexible courses, many of which occur online, or in a blended atmosphere.  Without the communication between employers and colleges, many high paying highly skilled jobs will go unfilled for lack of qualified applicants. 
                The previous circumstance deals with individuals who know what skills they need to be successful because they are already set in a position.  However many traditional aged students do not know what career they will end up with.  Thus the college curriculum must ensure that school is teaching the students critical thinking skills.  Then when students leave college, no matter what job they end up with, they will have the necessary cognitive skills to adapt and learn new material as the train in their new career.  Technology plays a big role in preparing students for jobs they may not even know exist yet.  With technology, it is possible to create virtual labs in many disciplines, which allow students to work out real life problems and develop problem solving skills.  The idea of creating adaptable lessons for small groups is very encouraging for the development of critical thinking skills for many facets of life.  This also caters to many different intelligences in the classroom.  Students can take advantage of their kinesthetic, visual, auditory, and other modes of learning and absorbing information.  If needed, these labs could also be more career specific, such as for nursing or other vocational careers.  This type of learning is much more self-driven as well, which takes the focus away from the instructor, and puts the student in the center of their own learning.  Students will need to know how to navigate large amounts of material presented by technology, and how to distinguish valuable information from incorrect material.  Because of the large amounts of free source information available, a majority of research and discussion can be done without the strict oversight of the professor.  This method should seem natural to many students as time progresses, because technology has been a part of many younger students lives since they were very young.  It would be unusual to many of these students to learn without using technology. 
                In addition, technology will help drive the idea of a worldwide community of learners.  Because of the ease to which people can connect all over the world, classrooms will continue to encourage students to exchange ideas with people from various countries.  Many college classrooms will no longer be isolated to the small group of students in the course, or even the relatively small number of total students at the college, but the investigating of ideas can be discussed by many individuals with many different backgrounds.  This again leads the importance of the ability of the student to distinguish what information is useful and what is not.
                The advance of technology leads to a shift in the structure of the college classroom.  Professors become much more of a facilitator rather than the main source of knowledge.  While the professor is still an expert in their field, the professor must encourage students to explore ideas on their own, because eventually the student will leave the classroom and no longer be able to rely solely on the knowledge of the professor.  Students must themselves become experts at finding and synthesizing information through the process of completing college courses.  The fact that the professors role is changing may be scary to many teachers.  Many professors enjoy being the main source of knowledge, but if a professor is to truly conduct their classroom to maximize the benefit to the student, the professor must accept this change spurred on by technology.  Instead of fearing or avoiding this change, it is a professor’s responsibility to investigate new technologies and new learning methods, and when applicable incorporate beneficial technology into their classroom.  The ultimate goal is to create life long critically thinking students, and technology is going to play a big part in how this is accomplished.

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