Week 2-Turning on the Lights Response

The article Turning on the Lights by Marc Prensky was a very intriguing read. The way he sets up and presents the information provides the reader with a very clear and informative view about what the article is trying to get across: Teachers need to implement technology into student learning in the classroom if we want school to continue to be an educational and engaging environment. It was interesting to see the timeline of how we progressed to this point in the first place. School used to be the only place where kids had the opportunity to learn about the world. Now the world is literally at their fingertips and they can essentially learn about anything they want anytime they want. Unfortunately, the classroom hasn't progressed at the rate of technology, and now the two are in conflict much of the time. I agree that teachers need to rework their curriculum to save the classroom from becoming a dreaded, boring, and irrelevant place.

I think Prensky's criticism of teachers teaching to standardized test standards was unfair however. It is not within the teachers' power to change this. This goes higher up in the educational hierarchy, which means that the whole education system will need to be changed that steers curriculum away from standardized testing. I do believe, however, that teachers should be able to prepare their students to know how to take standardized test, and still be able to prepare them to have fundamental knowledge through the use of technology.

Of Prensky's advice on how to move towards this new era in education, I really enjoyed his bit about connecting with the world. Finding other students around the world is a phenomenal way for the students to make connections and learn things that are truly relevant to real-life. This is a great idea and could be used in most any classroom in one way or another.