Young Minds, Fast Times: The Twenty-First-Century Digital Lea...

Highlighted by karlr61

t is a measure of the malaise of our educational system that these old folk -- smart and experienced as they may be -- think they can, by themselves and without the input of the people they're trying to teach, design the future of education.

Highlighted by mobbsey

One of the strangest things in this age of young people's empowerment is how little input our students have into their own education and its future.

Highlighted by datruss

One of the strangest things in this age of young people's empowerment is how little input our students have into their own education and its future. Kids who out of school control large sums of money and have huge choices on how they spend it have almost no choices at all about how they are educated -- they are, for the most part, just herded into classrooms and told what to do and when to do it

Highlighted by abubnic

One of the strangest things in this age of young people's empowerment is how little input our students have into their own education and its future. Kids who out of school control large sums of money and have huge choices on how they spend it have almost no choices at all about how they are educated

Highlighted by gcasey

One of the strangest things in this age of young people's empowerment is how little input our students have into their own education and its future. Kids who out of school control large sums of money and have huge choices on how they spend it have almost no choices at all about how they are educated -- they are, for the most part, just herded into classrooms and told what to do and when to do it. Unlike in the corporate world, where businesses spend tens of millions researching what their consumers really want, when it comes to how we structure and organize our kids' education, we generally don't make the slightest attempt to listen to, or even care, what students think about how they are taught.

Highlighted by systemicchaos

empowerment is how little input our students have into their own education and its future. Kids who out of school control large sums of money and have huge choices on how they spend it have almost no choices at all about how they are educated -- they are, for the most part, just herded into classrooms and told what to do and when to do it. Unlike in the corporate

Highlighted by mssabatucci

One of the strangest things in this age of young people's empowerment is how little input our students have into their own education and its future. Kids who out of school control large sums of money and have huge choices on how they spend it have almost no choices at all about how they are educated

Highlighted by mssabatucci

This is unacceptable and untenable. It's also dangerous. We treat our students the way we treated women before suffrage -- their opinions have no weight. But just as we now insist that wo

Highlighted by mobbsey

One of the strangest things in this age of young people's empowerment is how little input our students have into their own education and its future.

Highlighted by rmcmahon

So, whenever and wherever I speak, I do my best to bring my own students to the meetings. I ask my hosts to select a panel of a half-dozen or so kids of different grade levels, genders, and abilities to talk with me and the audience.

Highlighted by datruss

have almost no choices at all about how they are educated -- they are, for the most part, just herded into classrooms and told what to do and when to do it

Highlighted by rmcmahon

when it comes to how we structure and organize our kids' education, we generally don't make the slightest attempt to listen to, or even care, what students think about how they are taught.

Highlighted by rmcmahon

What experiences in school really engaged you?
How do you use technology in school as opposed to outside of school?
What are your pet peeves?

Highlighted by tinvong

What experiences in school really engaged you?

How do you use technology in school as opposed to outside of school?

What are your pet peeves?

Highlighted by datruss

What experiences in school really engaged you?

How do you use technology in school as opposed to outside of school?

What are your pet peeves?

Highlighted by systemicchaos

The students generally express a variety of feelings -- gratitude for the good teachers they have, and frustration with the greater number they find not so good.

Highlighted by rfuller1122

A young man commented, "You think of technology as a tool. We think of it as a foundation -- it's at the basis of everything we do."

Highlighted by ssummerford

One teacher queried, "Do computers cut you off from the world?" Not at all, said an excited student: "We share with others and get help. Technology helps -- it strengthens interactions so we can always stay in touch and play with other people. I've never gone a day without talking to my friends online."

Highlighted by tinvong

. "There is so much difference between how students think and how teachers think," offered a female student in Florida. A young man commented, "You think of technology as a tool. We think of it as a foundation -- it's at the basis of everything we do."

Highlighted by rfuller1122

"A lot of teachers make a PowerPoint and they think they're so awesome," said a girl in Florida. "But it's just like writing on the blackboard."

Highlighted by daviddmuir

"I'm bored 99 percent of the time." (California)

"School is really, really boring." (Virginia)

"We are so bored." (Texas)

"Engage us more." (Texas)

"[My teachers] bore me so much I don't pay attention." (Detroit)

"Pointless. I'm engaged in two out of my seven classes." (Florida

Highlighted by tinvong

Others blame it on today's "continuous partial attention" (CPA), a term coined by Linda Stone, who researches trends and their consumer implications. Stone describes CPA as the need "to be a live node on the network," continually text messaging, checking the cell phone, and jumping on email. "It is an always-on, anywhere, anytime, anyplace behavior that involves an artificial sense of constant crisis," she writes. "We pay continuous partial attention in an effort not to miss anything."

Highlighted by daviddmuir

I've heard some teachers claim that this is nothing new. Kids have always been bored in school.

Highlighted by rfuller1122

"continuous partial attention" (CPA), a term coined by Linda Stone, who researches trends and their consumer implications. Stone describes CPA as the need "to be a live node on the network," continually text messaging, checking the cell phone, and jumping on email. "It is an always-on, anywhere, anytime, anyplace behavior that involves an artificial sense of constant crisis," she writes. "We pay continuous partial attention in an effort not to miss anything."

Highlighted by sbrebbia

Students universally tell us they prefer dealing with questions rather than answers, sharing their opinions, participating in group projects, working with real-world issues and people, and having teachers who talk to them as equals rather than as inferiors. Hopefully, this is useful information for teachers and other educators -- and it is important that educators realize just how universal these opinions are.

Highlighted by tinvong

've heard some teachers claim that this is nothing new. Kids have always been bored in school. But I think now it's different. Some of the boredom, of course, comes from the contrast with the more engaging learning opportunities kids have outside of school.

Highlighted by rmcmahon

Today's kids hate being talked at. They hate when teaching is simply telling. They hate lectures and tune them out.

Highlighted by rfuller1122

the kids find it valuable to share with their educators their opinions on how they want to learn.

Highlighted by sbrebbia

Synopsis

Students have little input into the structure and substance of their own education. The traditional classroom lecture creates massive boredom, especially when compared to the vibrancy of their media-saturated, tech-driven world. But if we were to ask them, we'd learn they prefer questions rather than answers, sharing their opinions, group projects, working with real-world issues, and teachers who speak with them as equals rather than as inferiors.

To Do

Talk to your students. They're filled with great ideas on how to integrate tech into the classroom.
Lead by listening. Skip the classroom lecture and initiate discussions instead.
Ask students: What experiences in school really engaged you? How do you use technology in school as opposed to outside of school? What are your pet peeves?

Highlighted by datruss

After hosting dozens of these conversations, I realize one thing: We just don't listen enough to our students.

Highlighted by sbrebbia

for any system to work successfully in these times,

Highlighted by sbrebbia

we must combine top-down directives with bottom-up input.

Highlighted by sbrebbia

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