Rethink: Chapter 8

In this chapter, there was great discussion about three main components; customization, interaction, and learner control. These are all incredibly important factors as far as technology based learning is concerned. Technology is able to offer students to customize not only what they are learning, but how they are learning it. Many technology tools offer a wide range of interaction, which is greatly beneficial to the students' learning processes. And instead of the teacher being in charge of what the student is to learn, the student is able to decide for themselves. I feel that having students have more responsibility for their education in turn allows them to be successful. These three components tie into three main ways that schools can cope with technology; performance based assessment, new curriculum designs, and new approaches to equity in a digital world. As a teacher, I feel it is our right to find what works best for each individual student and allow them to pursue that. However, we do need to be mindful of what standards are set by both the state and school district and work within those confines. While reading the "new curriculum designs" portion of this chapter, I was a little hesitant to whether I agreed with the authors' ideas or not. And I know that it says that we're supposed to trust teenagers to choose their own paths, but I just don't agree with that. I don't care how be good of preparation you do, teenagers at 14 and 15 aren't really thinking about their long term or life time goals. Teenagers are still children. They don't need constant hand holding but they do need guidance.

As stated numerous times, this world is changing, and we need to be ready for it. I found while reading this chapter that their are plenty of ideas proposed that I don't necessarily agree with. But the point of education is to constantly evolve into a better practice for the betterment of our students. Just because I don't agree with something doesn't mean it won't be effective, and if it is something that is expected by our standards then there's really no other option but to comply. The point of the matter is, we are living in a time where the way we might have learned is different from the way our future students can learn, and we need to be prepared to make accommodations. There's nothing wrong with holding onto personal beliefs and ideas, as long as we are open to what is truly best for our students.