Well, I've decided to take a short break from the Discovering the Philosopher in You series. First a little background...
As part of my training to lead workout sessions, I've taken the certification training for CPR. Also, I've taken general first-aid and even been an instructor for those first-aid classes. Well, on Wednesday morning this last week I took a class on teaching CPR and I noticed a couple things.
First off, the most annoying thing in general about CPR training is the seeming total reliance on videos. Even the training to teach CPR by video, is taught by video! The thing that bothered me about this in this situation started with the preliminary training videos, it was actually full of great information. They had a variety good instruction tips, with good examples and help on how to deal with all types of situations. One of the scenarios they dealt with was how to teach and deal with a break down in your technology. But, apparently the only option for teaching CPR is with a video course. They're inconsistent! Here's how to deal with technology, but the only option available for teaching CPR is a video.
Here's another thing that gets me, they said at the beginning of the instructor training video that they've done research and that it showed how video instruction is just as effective as more traditional instruction. I'd be interested to see what that study covered. And as a hopeful future teacher, I died a bit inside when they said that!
I've discussed my opinion on technology before, but this is a serious question for educators and students. A fellow blogger/former teacher that I've discussed various topics online with, Jason Robillard, wrote an entry about this very topic. I've thought about this as an online learner and in general I've noticed that I don't really like the online "environment." Though online teaching is less like the integration of technology in education so much as lectures broadcast for a wide audience.
In all the online courses I've taken, especially the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) I've taken at Coursera.org, the biggest shortcoming is in testing. Especially with the topics I've taken classes in, philosophy, logic, etc., there's no way to test EVERYONE. Though I heard this the other day and really liked the idea: tests aren't for the teacher, the teacher (should) already knows if the student has been studying. The test is for the student, to test to find out if one really knows (in a measurable way) what one thinks one knows.
How does the integration of technology look in today's education world? I don't really know, though what I do know is that it's still not to that point where education should be taken over by machines. It's an exciting and scary prospect as I someday hope to make a career of teaching. Maybe someday (God forbid) we'll be at the point where teachers are replaced by machines, but hopefully I'll be ready for that day by educating myself on the best integration of technology in my own teaching (when I get to that point).
As part of my training to lead workout sessions, I've taken the certification training for CPR. Also, I've taken general first-aid and even been an instructor for those first-aid classes. Well, on Wednesday morning this last week I took a class on teaching CPR and I noticed a couple things.
First off, the most annoying thing in general about CPR training is the seeming total reliance on videos. Even the training to teach CPR by video, is taught by video! The thing that bothered me about this in this situation started with the preliminary training videos, it was actually full of great information. They had a variety good instruction tips, with good examples and help on how to deal with all types of situations. One of the scenarios they dealt with was how to teach and deal with a break down in your technology. But, apparently the only option for teaching CPR is with a video course. They're inconsistent! Here's how to deal with technology, but the only option available for teaching CPR is a video.
Here's another thing that gets me, they said at the beginning of the instructor training video that they've done research and that it showed how video instruction is just as effective as more traditional instruction. I'd be interested to see what that study covered. And as a hopeful future teacher, I died a bit inside when they said that!
I've discussed my opinion on technology before, but this is a serious question for educators and students. A fellow blogger/former teacher that I've discussed various topics online with, Jason Robillard, wrote an entry about this very topic. I've thought about this as an online learner and in general I've noticed that I don't really like the online "environment." Though online teaching is less like the integration of technology in education so much as lectures broadcast for a wide audience.
In all the online courses I've taken, especially the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) I've taken at Coursera.org, the biggest shortcoming is in testing. Especially with the topics I've taken classes in, philosophy, logic, etc., there's no way to test EVERYONE. Though I heard this the other day and really liked the idea: tests aren't for the teacher, the teacher (should) already knows if the student has been studying. The test is for the student, to test to find out if one really knows (in a measurable way) what one thinks one knows.
How does the integration of technology look in today's education world? I don't really know, though what I do know is that it's still not to that point where education should be taken over by machines. It's an exciting and scary prospect as I someday hope to make a career of teaching. Maybe someday (God forbid) we'll be at the point where teachers are replaced by machines, but hopefully I'll be ready for that day by educating myself on the best integration of technology in my own teaching (when I get to that point).
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| Don't look too close, there's some dust spots... but a beautiful sunset nonetheless |
