When I first started reading the article, I was very overwhelmed by the words the author was using. I was thinking, "I have no idea what he is talking about" and "I bet Andrea knows what he is saying." However, as I continued reading I realized even though I do not directly teach students how to code, there are skills in music that can be applied to the way students think as they are processing information just like a computer.
In music we learn about emotion through sound. If we went one step further, we could do a video project that would include both picture and background music that would help set the mood. I think that would be a pretty neat project for the future. It would include many different subjects, because they would write the storyline and script, create the picture ideas, use film and video software, and add music to set the mood. The author made some very good predictions of what students will need to know. The more we can make the knowledge accessible, the better off students will be in the future.
One project I remember from elementary school in music was working with a partner to create a short story and we talked about how music sets the mood and can make it sound suspensful, exciting, scary, etc. We wrote the background music with a keyboard throughout our stories and then presented them to the class with the music. To this day, I always pay attention to the background music on television now!
I do agree with the article that we need to teach skills with the future in mind. The biggest thing I think the article missed was the ability to build relationships with people. Technology is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but I feel a strong skill that our youth need to be taught is how to build relationships with people, even if they are different than us. If we don't have healthy relationships with the people that we work with, work for, or live with, the whole system breaks down. Through my years of teaching, I have learned that how we make our students feel, sometimes dictates how high or how low they will "jump" for us. I did agree with the article that having knowledge of the internet, knowing the search engines to use, the credentials of the site, the purpose for the site, and understanding slated information is very important. I also agree that being able to think critically, be able to reason, form an argument, be a good listener, and speak verbally or through media are all important skills to have. What this article did for me, was made me think about the direction education will be going.
I agree with you Janice, and I would add an emphasis on how to work cooperatively with other people in order to accomplish a task. The article made me think about the direction of my own teaching. I believe that a strength in fourth grade is the emphasis we put on speaking and presenting information to the class. Fourth graders are actually very good at presentations. That being said--we have room to strengthen how to be literate listeners, how to strengthen logic and reasoning, and how to be truly internet savvy: learning the differences in search engines, how to form and narrow searches, how to analyze a website's purpose and bias... I could use some refresher courses in all of these areas.
I thought this was a very interesting article. All four of these predictions have very good points. While teaching middle school students, I have noticed that some students understand the importance of these skills better than others. I often get asked, "Why do we need to learn this?" or "Why do we have to do this?" I always do my best to explain that there is a reason why we are doing what we are doing. We are preparing our students for the future. Listening and speaking skills are things that every student needs to participate in. Most middle school students are not a fan of having to give a presentation. I try to emphasize the point that they will use these speaking skills later on in life. As teachers, we need to be aware of our students' future. We not only want to shape them into the best student they can be, but the best person they can be. We need to be aware of every student's strengths and weaknesses and do what we can to help them excel out in the world. We need to be aware of our changing future and focus on what is best for our students.
I think having a vision of what students need to succeed is the goal of every educator. Many teachers are lifelong learners, so it is easy for teachers to share their learning passion with their students. I liked the question, “What do you wish you had been taught?” It made me think about the important things from my elementary, high school, and college days, and what I took with me to my classroom. The day to day learning that takes place in schools helps to build a strong background for what is needed later in life. It is sometimes those little learning events that become the catalyst for a bigger learning event. We have access to all the resources and tools needed for research. How we use those resources is important to students’ learning. We cannot predict what those resources are going to be in the future, that will always be developing. We can predict that students will adapt and change with the changes that will come. That is why setting examples of how you gather information, how you use it, and how it is presented becomes the ticket for learning. Teachers do that every day in the little learning events that happen. Students learn from our presentation in our instruction, they see and follow how we present ourselves. They see how we listen with respect. We model the skills everyday that students need to take with them.
I did agree with the author when he stated that we need to be mindful of what is truly important for students to learn. Many times we can google information so it probably doesn't need to be memorized. I feel it would be more important to introduce and discuss the topics and teach students how to dig deeper if they want to. I like the idea of teaching students how to narrow searches so that they can learn how to filter what are trustworthy websites vs sites that are more biased. I also agree with the teachers who mentioned that we need to teach how to build relationships with teachers. Our devices can hinder a real conversation and being able to learn how to communicate and problem solve in our relationships is crucial.
These are all great points but I do agree with Liz about making sure to take some of those things to the next level such as working collaboratively. All social interactions are important and I think we need to make sure that we are focused on making sure our students are still having conversations out loud, rather than exchanges through some form of app. Carrying on a conversation is actually difficult for so many students, and adults, to do if they do not have a device in front of them. Technology and all the changes in our world can be great, but sometimes going back to the basics is also really helpful.
I think we are missing some important thing for the students of tomorrow. How to get along with all people, how to talk to all people, and how to work with others. The computer will always be here, but so will people. Salespeople will always be here, so will our voice and how we respond to them. Listening is important, but how we respond is important. People speaking will always be here, but how we respond is important. Everyone should be able to know how to talk to other people. Technology is fine, but how ofter do we interrupt a simple email or text the wrong way. We need relations with people by talking to them. Children need to learn how to talk and use their words. Not all jobs use technology to talk to others. We do have to use our voice every once in a while. Children need to know how to have a conversation.
This article makes some great points about what skills children may need in the future related to technology skills , but misses critical social skills such as forming relationships and holding face to face conversations with others. Don’t get me wrong technology will be a huge part of the children of today’s future and our future. We need to make sure there is some sort of balance between the two so that all children will be prepared with skills to help them to be successful adults.
All of you have made very good points about the things this article did and did not include. The great advancements in technology of their lifetime have made it easier for students to neglect the speaking and listening skills they are taught in school. I feel like so many of them feel that they are not going to need them later in life because so many things are online rather than face-to-face. Of course it is important to teach the many aspects of internet and media literacy because it is the present and future world. Good thinking and speaking skills are usually easy to teach, but many students struggle implementing and applying what is taught to the real world. I like to give my students multiple opportunities to give and respond to oral presentations because each experience makes the next one a little easier and a little better. Any time a student asks me why they need to learn something or when it will ever come in handy, I like to point out that if they ever wind up on Jeopardy, they will be glad they learned random facts in school. :)
I think that you have all made excellent points and I agree with them. In recent years there has been a huge push to make our students better thinkers that use 21st century skills. While these skills are important, speaking to and listening to each other are, in my opinion, more important. Kids need to know how to form relationships, ask for help, talk kindly to people, listen while others are talking to them, solve social problems among themselves, etc and unfortunately that isn't something they can learn sitting in front of a computer.
Everyone made great points. I really agree with Liz. Our 4th graders can do a great job of getting up there and giving presentations. However, they don't always do a great job of listening to those who are presenting. I know this year especially I'm seeing that my students don't think they need to listen to me. I often get questions and thankfully one student will pay attention and tell the others, "She just told us that!" I'm still working on trying to figure out how to get this group to see that listening to me and their classmates is important.
As I read this article, I kept thinking back to February’s blog. I think there are similarities between the citizens we need in the future and these four predictions. Speaking and listening skills are a huge part of school life and beyond. I agree with many of you that we give ample opportunities to speak and present, but I don’t always feel our students are active and engaged listeners. This is evident by the number of times I repeat myself on a daily basis. We also need to somehow teach our students to discern information both in print, online, and verbal. There is so much information that is unreliable and not based in truth, but distinguishing that from what is real is difficult for many adults in today’s world let alone our students. Finding reliable and credible sources seems to have become more difficult in today’s social media world. I can only imagine it will get worse in the future. Once again, I think our end goal is to aid students into becoming adults who will be able to think for themselves, view materials and ideas critically, and problem solve in the real world.
I have had conversations with teachers lately about what our curriculum will look like in the future. We need to start adapting our curriculum, the ways we teach and what we teach to meet the needs of the students coming to us. They are different than they were just a couple of years ago. I think a lot of this has to do with technology and the lifestyles they live every day. I agree that listening and speaking are two very important skills that all students need to help them be successful in the future. In first grade we work on weekly poems. They work on reading these poems all week and then present them in front of the class on Friday. We also work on our speaking and listening skills during our daily sharing time. I agree with Tracy that having active listeners throughout the day is a constant struggle.
I agree with all of the points made from this article. While I was reading the part about the different skills students need for the internet made me think that I need a refresher for a lot of them too. I have been on the internet a lot lately reading about the corona virus and needing to use the skill of what is true and false information. I definitely believe students need more work on listening and talking to one another. I see it in my own children. I wish we could get rid of the phones and just talk to one another. I know technology isn't going anywhere so we need to teach the students in the classroom the importance of how to speak to others face to face because they will need that skill in the future.
While I agree that computers and technology can be very useful (especially now that we're all stuck at home and our students are learning mainly from internet sources), I also think there are many important skills that students cannot learn from the internet. Learning to form relationships, talk respectfully and kindly, ask for help, problem solve, etc. all come from person-to-person contact.
This generation of kids definitely have a different way of talking to each other than I did as a teen/pre-teen. I remember spending an hour or more on the phone with friends. I have no idea what we talked about for that long, but we sure could waste time on the phone. I think today's pre-teens are the same except they are video chatting. I have watch my friend's daughter "video" chat with friends. The difference is that the video might be showing the ceiling instead of their faces. hehe. Not too often was she actually face to face over the phone with her friend. I thought this was kind of funny. Doesn't that take away the point of a video chat? Am I getting to old to understand the ways of the teens??? I agree mostly with the article about how public speaking/listening and media skills are very important, but there is something to say about those historical facts that help in communication with others, not just for Jeopardy. lol.
I also agree with much of what others have stated about students being able to work collaboratively, interact socially with one another and be active listeners. Times sure have changed and it is important that the self help and interactions skills are not lost. Students today have a hard time solving little problems and how to process through dealing with them. There are so many day to day skills that the students need to learn in order to be successful. Just like Karen stated that our students continue to change, we, as teachers, need to make sure our teaching/curriculum is changing as well.
Each night when I go to bed; I say my prayers and I mentally send a mental message to my high school math teacher, Mr. Peters, with whom I spent 4 years..."Sorry, Mr. Peters...didn't use any trig again today!" But I did use problem solving and "stick-to-itiveness". My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Oliver noticed my anxiety and stress over testing and remembering material. She told me that I didn't need to remember EVERYTHING...I just needed to know where to look for it when I needed information. Now back then, she was talking about the encyclopedia, reference books, the library. Now I tell my kiddos the same thing...except they can "google-it". As far as learning to talk to each other...We are always working on how to "disagree" with someone else. I work on reminding the to not start their counter argument with the word "No...". I'm not sure about the prediction that there will be a need for sales people. We are losing brick an mortar sales options as Amazon takes over the world of convenience shopping and everyone else has online shopping as well. Can we teach them what they will need in 17 years...probably not at the rate of change in today's world...but we can teach them to keep looking until they "find" the answer they need. We can teach them the importance of going the extra mile and being a kind person while they do so.
I really like what Lisa said about finding information. Growing up I didn't have internet until about 7th grade. My parents really didn't know a lot about it and I only knew what we had learned at school. A Lot the things I know about the internet and computers now is because I found information on my own. A lot of skills kids need to know is just about looking in the right spots for them. Today we can go on youtube and figure out how to paint a picture of a horse or even learn small electrical work. It's amazing what you can find if you look in the right places. I also agree with the article when they say communication and listening are vital parts to what kids need to learn. Often time kids are listening but not hearing. We need to teach them to hear what people are saying and also to teach them it is okay to not agree with that person but also understand their perspective and respect it.
Such a timely article, as my freshman doing algebra asked, "Why do I need to learn this? I'm never going to use these formulas in my life." We get comment often in middle school...Students ask me why they need to know about Ancient China or Ancient Greece at all. Sometimes we need to remind them that what they are learning just provides a glimpse into many different areas that might spark the interest into a future career, other times the learning is to help us get a better understanding of the world around us and why things are the way they are. I do agree that that the four points in the article are crucial learning for student success in general, and I will admit that I don't always focus on them because my focus is on the science or social studies content standards instead. I think that students do need more direct instruction in searching for information - They ALWAYS click on the first search result, no matter what it is. I also agree that students need more instruction in speaking. When they give presentations, some students seem to be natural speakers who can engage others, while other students are visibly uncomfortable. Ans lastly, listening skills are an area that middle school students definitely need to work on. As Tracy said, we repeat ourselves constantly. I feel like a lot of students don't like to put effort into doing things that require concentration, research, or perseverance, and they have an expectation that the teacher will repeat or provide help immediately without the students having tried much on their own. So, I am adding to the list a skill for the future - Perseverance and Endurance.
I really enjoyed reading this article. I think the author did a great job of laying out the importance of technology skills that students will need to navigate in the future. However, I strongly agree with those who noted the importance of social skills. There are many smart people out there that may not be successful due to an inability to connect and communicate with others. Especially now that technology is taking away our students' attentions span and ability to notice things and people around them. I also agree with Gina. I have recently noticed that almost all students do click on the first search result. When discussed and sent back to look for more information or a different source they click on the second search result and then complain that they can't find any information. I feel that successful students of the future will need to listen, communicate, work collaboratively, think critically, concentrate, and persevere while using their technology skills.
Well, waiting to be one of the last to respond has some benefits! I get to read all of the great thoughts from everyone. I think all of the teachers have brought up great points from their own perspective. I too agree that while technology skills are important, especially in today's world, we also need to focus on skills like how to communicate with each other, how to work together cooperatively, how to perservere when things are tough, how to evaluate different viewpoints without attacking someone who has a different viewpoint than your own and most of all how to be kind. I think technology has changed kids. They struggle with listening, are easily bored by anything not as exciting as a YouTube video or video game. I think parents and teachers need to go back to teaching old-fashioned values that will help you through the rest of your lives.
This was a very interesting article. It made me really think about the things we learn in subjects we wouldn't ordinarily see as useful. In preschool, teaching the basics of looking at the speaker and being an active participant in a conversation, as well as basic kindness even in the face of something you don't understand is so important. I think technology has weakened these skills. Reminding students of these skills in every subject area would be beneficial.
When I first started reading the article, I was very overwhelmed by the words the author was using. I was thinking, "I have no idea what he is talking about" and "I bet Andrea knows what he is saying." However, as I continued reading I realized even though I do not directly teach students how to code, there are skills in music that can be applied to the way students think as they are processing information just like a computer.
ReplyDeleteIn music we learn about emotion through sound. If we went one step further, we could do a video project that would include both picture and background music that would help set the mood. I think that would be a pretty neat project for the future. It would include many different subjects, because they would write the storyline and script, create the picture ideas, use film and video software, and add music to set the mood. The author made some very good predictions of what students will need to know. The more we can make the knowledge accessible, the better off students will be in the future.
One project I remember from elementary school in music was working with a partner to create a short story and we talked about how music sets the mood and can make it sound suspensful, exciting, scary, etc. We wrote the background music with a keyboard throughout our stories and then presented them to the class with the music. To this day, I always pay attention to the background music on television now!
DeleteI do agree with the article that we need to teach skills with the future in mind. The biggest thing I think the article missed was the ability to build relationships with people. Technology is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but I feel a strong skill that our youth need to be taught is how to build relationships with people, even if they are different than us. If we don't have healthy relationships with the people that we work with, work for, or live with, the whole system breaks down. Through my years of teaching, I have learned that how we make our students feel, sometimes dictates how high or how low they will "jump" for us. I did agree with the article that having knowledge of the internet, knowing the search engines to use, the credentials of the site, the purpose for the site, and understanding slated information is very important. I also agree that being able to think critically, be able to reason, form an argument, be a good listener, and speak verbally or through media are all important skills to have. What this article did for me, was made me think about the direction education will be going.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Janice, and I would add an emphasis on how to work cooperatively with other people in order to accomplish a task. The article made me think about the direction of my own teaching. I believe that a strength in fourth grade is the emphasis we put on speaking and presenting information to the class. Fourth graders are actually very good at presentations. That being said--we have room to strengthen how to be literate listeners, how to strengthen logic and reasoning, and how to be truly internet savvy: learning the differences in search engines, how to form and narrow searches, how to analyze a website's purpose and bias... I could use some refresher courses in all of these areas.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very interesting article. All four of these predictions have very good points. While teaching middle school students, I have noticed that some students understand the importance of these skills better than others. I often get asked, "Why do we need to learn this?" or "Why do we have to do this?" I always do my best to explain that there is a reason why we are doing what we are doing. We are preparing our students for the future. Listening and speaking skills are things that every student needs to participate in. Most middle school students are not a fan of having to give a presentation. I try to emphasize the point that they will use these speaking skills later on in life. As teachers, we need to be aware of our students' future. We not only want to shape them into the best student they can be, but the best person they can be. We need to be aware of every student's strengths and weaknesses and do what we can to help them excel out in the world. We need to be aware of our changing future and focus on what is best for our students.
ReplyDeleteI think having a vision of what students need to succeed is the goal of every educator. Many teachers are lifelong learners, so it is easy for teachers to share their learning passion with their students. I liked the question, “What do you wish you had been taught?” It made me think about the important things from my elementary, high school, and college days, and what I took with me to my classroom. The day to day learning that takes place in schools helps to build a strong background for what is needed later in life. It is sometimes those little learning events that become the catalyst for a bigger learning event. We have access to all the resources and tools needed for research. How we use those resources is important to students’ learning. We cannot predict what those resources are going to be in the future, that will always be developing. We can predict that students will adapt and change with the changes that will come. That is why setting examples of how you gather information, how you use it, and how it is presented becomes the ticket for learning. Teachers do that every day in the little learning events that happen. Students learn from our presentation in our instruction, they see and follow how we present ourselves. They see how we listen with respect. We model the skills everyday that students need to take with them.
ReplyDeleteI did agree with the author when he stated that we need to be mindful of what is truly important for students to learn. Many times we can google information so it probably doesn't need to be memorized. I feel it would be more important to introduce and discuss the topics and teach students how to dig deeper if they want to. I like the idea of teaching students how to narrow searches so that they can learn how to filter what are trustworthy websites vs sites that are more biased. I also agree with the teachers who mentioned that we need to teach how to build relationships with teachers. Our devices can hinder a real conversation and being able to learn how to communicate and problem solve in our relationships is crucial.
ReplyDeleteThese are all great points but I do agree with Liz about making sure to take some of those things to the next level such as working collaboratively. All social interactions are important and I think we need to make sure that we are focused on making sure our students are still having conversations out loud, rather than exchanges through some form of app. Carrying on a conversation is actually difficult for so many students, and adults, to do if they do not have a device in front of them. Technology and all the changes in our world can be great, but sometimes going back to the basics is also really helpful.
ReplyDeleteI think we are missing some important thing for the students of tomorrow. How to get along with all people, how to talk to all people, and how to work with others. The computer will always be here, but so will people. Salespeople will always be here, so will our voice and how we respond to them. Listening is important, but how we respond is important. People speaking will always be here, but how we respond is important. Everyone should be able to know how to talk to other people. Technology is fine, but how ofter do we interrupt a simple email or text the wrong way. We need relations with people by talking to them. Children need to learn how to talk and use their words. Not all jobs use technology to talk to others. We do have to use our voice every once in a while. Children need to know how to have a conversation.
ReplyDeleteThis article makes some great points about what skills children may need in the future related to technology skills , but misses critical social skills such as forming relationships and holding face to face conversations with others. Don’t get me wrong technology will be a huge part of the children of today’s future and our future. We need to make sure there is some sort of balance between the two so that all children will be prepared with skills to help them to be successful adults.
ReplyDeleteAll of you have made very good points about the things this article did and did not include. The great advancements in technology of their lifetime have made it easier for students to neglect the speaking and listening skills they are taught in school. I feel like so many of them feel that they are not going to need them later in life because so many things are online rather than face-to-face. Of course it is important to teach the many aspects of internet and media literacy because it is the present and future world. Good thinking and speaking skills are usually easy to teach, but many students struggle implementing and applying what is taught to the real world. I like to give my students multiple opportunities to give and respond to oral presentations because each experience makes the next one a little easier and a little better. Any time a student asks me why they need to learn something or when it will ever come in handy, I like to point out that if they ever wind up on Jeopardy, they will be glad they learned random facts in school. :)
ReplyDeleteI think that you have all made excellent points and I agree with them. In recent years there has been a huge push to make our students better thinkers that use 21st century skills. While these skills are important, speaking to and listening to each other are, in my opinion, more important. Kids need to know how to form relationships, ask for help, talk kindly to people, listen while others are talking to them, solve social problems among themselves, etc and unfortunately that isn't something they can learn sitting in front of a computer.
ReplyDeleteEveryone made great points. I really agree with Liz. Our 4th graders can do a great job of getting up there and giving presentations. However, they don't always do a great job of listening to those who are presenting. I know this year especially I'm seeing that my students don't think they need to listen to me. I often get questions and thankfully one student will pay attention and tell the others, "She just told us that!" I'm still working on trying to figure out how to get this group to see that listening to me and their classmates is important.
ReplyDeleteAs I read this article, I kept thinking back to February’s blog. I think there are similarities between the citizens we need in the future and these four predictions. Speaking and listening skills are a huge part of school life and beyond. I agree with many of you that we give ample opportunities to speak and present, but I don’t always feel our students are active and engaged listeners. This is evident by the number of times I repeat myself on a daily basis. We also need to somehow teach our students to discern information both in print, online, and verbal. There is so much information that is unreliable and not based in truth, but distinguishing that from what is real is difficult for many adults in today’s world let alone our students. Finding reliable and credible sources seems to have become more difficult in today’s social media world. I can only imagine it will get worse in the future. Once again, I think our end goal is to aid students into becoming adults who will be able to think for themselves, view materials and ideas critically, and problem solve in the real world.
ReplyDeleteI have had conversations with teachers lately about what our curriculum will look like in the future. We need to start adapting our curriculum, the ways we teach and what we teach to meet the needs of the students coming to us. They are different than they were just a couple of years ago. I think a lot of this has to do with technology and the lifestyles they live every day. I agree that listening and speaking are two very important skills that all students need to help them be successful in the future. In first grade we work on weekly poems. They work on reading these poems all week and then present them in front of the class on Friday. We also work on our speaking and listening skills during our daily sharing time. I agree with Tracy that having active listeners throughout the day is a constant struggle.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the points made from this article. While I was reading the part about the different skills students need for the internet made me think that I need a refresher for a lot of them too. I have been on the internet a lot lately reading about the corona virus and needing to use the skill of what is true and false information. I definitely believe students need more work on listening and talking to one another. I see it in my own children. I wish we could get rid of the phones and just talk to one another. I know technology isn't going anywhere so we need to teach the students in the classroom the importance of how to speak to others face to face because they will need that skill in the future.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that computers and technology can be very useful (especially now that we're all stuck at home and our students are learning mainly from internet sources), I also think there are many important skills that students cannot learn from the internet. Learning to form relationships, talk respectfully and kindly, ask for help, problem solve, etc. all come from person-to-person contact.
ReplyDeleteThis generation of kids definitely have a different way of talking to each other than I did as a teen/pre-teen. I remember spending an hour or more on the phone with friends. I have no idea what we talked about for that long, but we sure could waste time on the phone. I think today's pre-teens are the same except they are video chatting. I have watch my friend's daughter "video" chat with friends. The difference is that the video might be showing the ceiling instead of their faces. hehe. Not too often was she actually face to face over the phone with her friend. I thought this was kind of funny. Doesn't that take away the point of a video chat? Am I getting to old to understand the ways of the teens???
ReplyDeleteI agree mostly with the article about how public speaking/listening and media skills are very important, but there is something to say about those historical facts that help in communication with others, not just for Jeopardy. lol.
I also agree with much of what others have stated about students being able to work collaboratively, interact socially with one another and be active listeners. Times sure have changed and it is important that the self help and interactions skills are not lost. Students today have a hard time solving little problems and how to process through dealing with them. There are so many day to day skills that the students need to learn in order to be successful. Just like Karen stated that our students continue to change, we, as teachers, need to make sure our teaching/curriculum is changing as well.
ReplyDeleteEach night when I go to bed; I say my prayers and I mentally send a mental message to my high school math teacher, Mr. Peters, with whom I spent 4 years..."Sorry, Mr. Peters...didn't use any trig again today!" But I did use problem solving and "stick-to-itiveness".
ReplyDeleteMy fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Oliver noticed my anxiety and stress over testing and remembering material. She told me that I didn't need to remember EVERYTHING...I just needed to know where to look for it when I needed information. Now back then, she was talking about the encyclopedia, reference books, the library. Now I tell my kiddos the same thing...except they can "google-it".
As far as learning to talk to each other...We are always working on how to "disagree" with someone else. I work on reminding the to not start their counter argument with the word "No...".
I'm not sure about the prediction that there will be a need for sales people. We are losing brick an mortar sales options as Amazon takes over the world of convenience shopping and everyone else has online shopping as well.
Can we teach them what they will need in 17 years...probably not at the rate of change in today's world...but we can teach them to keep looking until they "find" the answer they need. We can teach them the importance of going the extra mile and being a kind person while they do so.
I really like what Lisa said about finding information. Growing up I didn't have internet until about 7th grade. My parents really didn't know a lot about it and I only knew what we had learned at school. A Lot the things I know about the internet and computers now is because I found information on my own. A lot of skills kids need to know is just about looking in the right spots for them. Today we can go on youtube and figure out how to paint a picture of a horse or even learn small electrical work. It's amazing what you can find if you look in the right places. I also agree with the article when they say communication and listening are vital parts to what kids need to learn. Often time kids are listening but not hearing. We need to teach them to hear what people are saying and also to teach them it is okay to not agree with that person but also understand their perspective and respect it.
ReplyDeleteSuch a timely article, as my freshman doing algebra asked, "Why do I need to learn this? I'm never going to use these formulas in my life." We get comment often in middle school...Students ask me why they need to know about Ancient China or Ancient Greece at all. Sometimes we need to remind them that what they are learning just provides a glimpse into many different areas that might spark the interest into a future career, other times the learning is to help us get a better understanding of the world around us and why things are the way they are. I do agree that that the four points in the article are crucial learning for student success in general, and I will admit that I don't always focus on them because my focus is on the science or social studies content standards instead. I think that students do need more direct instruction in searching for information - They ALWAYS click on the first search result, no matter what it is. I also agree that students need more instruction in speaking. When they give presentations, some students seem to be natural speakers who can engage others, while other students are visibly uncomfortable. Ans lastly, listening skills are an area that middle school students definitely need to work on. As Tracy said, we repeat ourselves constantly. I feel like a lot of students don't like to put effort into doing things that require concentration, research, or perseverance, and they have an expectation that the teacher will repeat or provide help immediately without the students having tried much on their own. So, I am adding to the list a skill for the future - Perseverance and Endurance.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this article. I think the author did a great job of laying out the importance of technology skills that students will need to navigate in the future. However, I strongly agree with those who noted the importance of social skills. There are many smart people out there that may not be successful due to an inability to connect and communicate with others. Especially now that technology is taking away our students' attentions span and ability to notice things and people around them. I also agree with Gina. I have recently noticed that almost all students do click on the first search result. When discussed and sent back to look for more information or a different source they click on the second search result and then complain that they can't find any information. I feel that successful students of the future will need to listen, communicate, work collaboratively, think critically, concentrate, and persevere while using their technology skills.
ReplyDeleteWell, waiting to be one of the last to respond has some benefits! I get to read all of the great thoughts from everyone. I think all of the teachers have brought up great points from their own perspective. I too agree that while technology skills are important, especially in today's world, we also need to focus on skills like how to communicate with each other, how to work together cooperatively, how to perservere when things are tough, how to evaluate different viewpoints without attacking someone who has a different viewpoint than your own and most of all how to be kind. I think technology has changed kids. They struggle with listening, are easily bored by anything not as exciting as a YouTube video or video game. I think parents and teachers need to go back to teaching old-fashioned values that will help you through the rest of your lives.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting article. It made me really think about the things we learn in subjects we wouldn't ordinarily see as useful. In preschool, teaching the basics of looking at the speaker and being an active participant in a conversation, as well as basic kindness even in the face of something you don't understand is so important. I think technology has weakened these skills. Reminding students of these skills in every subject area would be beneficial.
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