Summary of chapter 2 The Wrong Application

  The author mentioned that using technology as a tool for content consumption is a wrong application which is detrimental for activing students’ creative thinking and tapping technology’s potential in learning process. A student can be a creative producer, not just a simple information receiver and absorber. And technology is not just a tool for passive consumption as well, it can be used widely in researching and producing process.

  This wrong application exactly reflects to the wrong relationship between teachers and technologies that many teachers regard technologies as their opponents in class in fear of being replaced by them in the future. They don’t realize that they have different inches on high-order thinking and critical thinking comparing to routine tasks that technologies can perform better. Many teachers use technology as a tool to improve students’ academic outcomes even though research has proved that technology has little to no impact on students’ test scores. (page 36)

  “Most teachers continue to serve as the authority of knowledge and transfer their knowledge to students.” “Technologies are unfortunately often used as tools to simply carry out teachers’ current routine practices.” (page 35) In this way, they view knowledge as something taught, received, stored and later retrieved. (page 37) Using technology in this process is benefit for students to accept new knowledge, but isn’t good enough for reinforcing learning and constructing their obtained knowledge.

  Actually, students always construct knowledge based on their prior experiences by creating and producing. So teachers should also encourage students to choose different technologies appropriately for their discovery learning according to their diverse needs and interests. Make technology be student’s partner to help them construct knowledge and perform better on problem solving, not just a tool for transferring knowledge.

  Learn from making and construct knowledge from experience, students can use diverse technologies to make it easier and more effective.

  For instance, students can use computer to search information for their project based on their prior experience and create their projects by hands or 3D printer in class based makerspace individually or collaboratively. They can use Microsoft Word to write specifications, use Photoshop or Premiere to edit project images or videos taken by camera. They can also use PowerPoint to make a presentation for their projects and post their finished projects on blogs to share and get feedback from comments for later refining.

  In this whole process, students can construct their learning by various technologies from information collection to project making and sharing, they can also practice their social skills on communicating and getting effective feedback for promoting as well. You can see, technologies involve into students’ learning construction consistently and can help them construct their own learning ecosystem based on gaining experience.

  As the largest online encyclopedia around the world, Wikipedia is a typical technology for knowledge construction based on prior experience which allows everyone in the world to contribute and edit objective or experienced knowledge with references to each item collected in the whole system of encyclopedia. This largest online collaborative creating and making project can perform very well in a wide of classroom settings today, especially for learner-centered learning.

  “Wikipedia allows students to join together in a knowledge-building community where they can enhance their critical thinking skills,” (page 41) that is, students can contribute their own ideas and knowledge to one topic or item and compare their work with other classmates who did same job as them to practice critical thinking and negotiation skills. They can also track their work by checking history records to review this dynamic learning process to gain experience. In addition, they can combine Wikipedia with interactive technologies together to form a platform like learning management system to maximize their knowledge construction.

  Besides Wikipedia, there are also some new genres of technologies for creating and making such as digital stories, Twitters, blogs, videos and robots. “Anyone with Internet access can express an opinion, share stories, and make her or his voice heard, and there are so many different ways to do so.” (page 44) Students can use various media like text, pictures, simulations and videos to make a digital story to express their feelings and explore a particular topic with others. Then, they can use Twitters or Facebook to achieve interactive and immediate communication flexibly with teachers and classmates or people online. They can even post their projects on blogs for sharing and provide relevant YouTube links for viewing and wait for others comment to communicate ideas for later promoting and knowledge constructing. Of course, students can easily customize the interface of blogs and organize contents or comments to make it more purposeful for readers. As well, students can print a 3D object or building robots and program it with peers together to practice collaborative learning and creative thinking.

  “We all are born with the potential to innovate and create, but most of us need a lot of practice in the appropriate context to get really good with it.” (page 46) So teachers have to consider the difference between students on participating in creative activities and differentiate diverse their needs first.

  Teachers can provide students with a wide array of technological options to explore what is possible for them, (page 47) and schools must find a better way to balance the need between security and providing best learning opportunities for students to make sure they can authentically participate creative learning process. And it’s also very important for teachers to build a correct relationship with technologies that they are both essential parts in the whole learning ecosystem which have diverse inches. Finally, students also need develop a healthy relationship with technology (page 49) because they are principal part of learning ecosystem.

  The most effective learning by making and creating just appears where teachers, students and technologies consist a friendly organic whole that each part can develop a healthy relationship with others.