This Needs to Be Said:
Is the Millennial generation going to change the future of Early Childhood Education in child-care centres and schools?
As a nearly 22 year old (soon to be) university graduate I cannot help but express the fact that I will most likely not be getting a full time teaching job until I #1, get more degrees and #2, wait for the older generation to retire. This may be a few years of waiting, but in the meantime I can think about what will be explained in the blog post as the future of education as we know it.
Methods of educating children come and go but for the most part the idea of teaching children about concepts remains in the same fashion of teacher lead and student received. Slowly and slowly, millennials that are fresh out of learning about the old and new methods are getting integrated into the education system. Slowly and slowly they are bringing those new things to the table.
I will give you an example, when completing a placement in a grade 1/2 class last year, anytime an educator on my floor was having a technology issue or nearly had a question, they came to me. Some I hadn’t even met before those moments of wonder, but as they explained they “assumed I would know how to fix it”. I did know how to fix the problem and further explained what they should do if it were to occur again. But how did I know what they did not? Was it simply my age?
The fact of the matter is that the knowledge that people with a technologically advanced background have is nothing but an advantage compared to other with little knowledge on the subject. That is not me saying that the advantage comes through in all lights but it does help with many things that children are interested in as well as what they should be learning about (refer to previous blog post).
When reviewing the facts, it seems to be repeatedly stated that using technology in the classroom makes for a multifaceted and enriching learning environment. According to the Educational Technology Research and Development Journal (2017) tablets in the classroom, for example, can
enable teachers to seamlessly integrate technology within planned instructional activities
enhance communication between students and teachers about schoolwork after school hours
and encourage questions from students through email or instant messaging during class
Now, I can admit that that last point even sounds a little crazy to me; instant messaging your teacher in class? Just walk up to him/her! The effectiveness is explained in this journal through “one-to-one computing”, where each person in the classroom has access to one device. Now, bypass the cost effectiveness of this study and we can just hone in on the fact that the teaching methods through the screen showed promise, in comparison to the more “traditional methods”. Engagement, as the authors explained, occurs when students take responsibility for their learning, feel invested in learning tasks, and see the value of school learning in the real world.
This study was done throughout 18 elementary, middle and high schools in the States. Focusing on the elementary level, it does have a bit of shock factor to learn how capable these young children are when it comes to using technology. For them, if if learning occurs differently on a tablet then traditionally, they will be excited and engaged to explore something new; anyone would be!
The key thing in closing this subject is to remember that all educators regardless of their age, personal experience and experience in the field will teach in different ways. However, Increased efforts to promote 21st century learning emphasize the central role of technology in order to advance the multifaceted abilities and skills required for student success. There is a change coming, but it doesn’t have to be overtaking the well known teaching traditions that have shown effectiveness in learning for years!
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Julia
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Article Resource:
"Potential of one-to-one technologies in the classroom: teachers and students weigh in"
http://link.springer.com.ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/article/10.1007/s11423-017-9509-2
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