Respected sir,
Here are my views regarding this thinking activity. Thanks for giving this activity it is very fruitful and very thought provoking for me. I learn so many things from these various videos. All videos are Very helpful specially in ELT.
Here is the link of this thinking activity in which 8 videos embedded. Click here : -
1) Changing Education paradigms – Sir Ken Robinson
Ken Robinson gave some innovative ideas to technology and education system under the title ‘ The changing Paradigm’. In which he discussed various ideas like Divergent Thinking and Collaborative learning . He did one research – Longitudinal test on various age group people like KG to 13-15 age groups and find their thinking capacity. Divergent thinking means to see lots of possibilities of positive answers to one question. Not linear way.
2) Build a school in the cloud by – Sugata Mitra
He explain his various experiments and wish in this video. He said that current learning practice in school came in before 300 years from British Empire . Now that empire gone they just creates clerk but still in education we did same thing we just focus on good hand writing , basic knowledge of Maths and know to read . Britishers did this because they wanted to do their works , but still we did it without any new thinking and creativity. So he said that no need of good handwriting and counting etc in the time of technology. He did beautiful experiments on slum children in Delhi like “Hall in wall” ( 1999) in which he stuck one computer in wall and notice that what students do and he did same thing at various places and he found that in a 9 months group of children left alone with a computer in any language they rich the same standard of the office sectors in the west. So by this he proved that not only reach children know that kind of knowledge if you provide this facilities of these slum children they also did well. Then he did one experiment of pronunciation in 2000 – 2005, then one experiment in Kalikuppam village in 2006 – 2013. He said that now not need to go to school and learn but he gave an idea of SOLE – self organized learning environment, learn any where . He gave the idea of granny cloud through skip. At last he said that three important things are Broadband + collaboration + Encouragement. He notice also that as per neuroscience punishments and examination creates the threats in the children and that’s why they can’t think creatively. His main wish is that self learning and build school in the cloud that is the real future of learning.
3) The future of learning by – Sugata Mitra
One world
One future
In this video he gave such a new path to taught students and criticized traditional teaching methods also that why and how this traditional class room constructed? , by whom? And he gave good things from printing press to today how education change. He said that in examination hall teacher allowed all tools and tables book of mathematics so why not allowed internet in examination hall. He also gave his observation that group activity is better than to learn alone. Provide some kind of atmospheres like talk freely, interact with each other and without any adult in class so they learn well. He pointed that we always think that young generation always texting and not study because of Mobil and other thing but he said I observed that through this kind of machine they not always texting and cheating but they search and learn more. So pedagogy needs to include to use internet. When teacher are friends schools can be forever.
4) Reinvent education – Salman Khan
Main argument of his is made Global one world classroom. He share his experience in Ted talk that he started just made some simple videos of arithmetic for his cousin and just uploaded on YouTube and he get a lots of comments and likes so he decided to do this kind of works and he started work and established one Khan academy. He said that students can learnt better from the video rather than from books and teachers and use technology in classroom not taught just traditional way.
5) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants by – Marc Prensky
In this Prensky states about two different groups of people with different title , Digital Natives means the use of technology Is readily available to the children born, the natives. And digital immigrants means those people who were not born in a time when technology was not readily available to use it. “ Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach”. He said that new generations thoughts and think process are totally different from their predecessors. So he basically talked on this gap between digital native and immigrants in education . He distinguished two types of content : “legacy” and “future”. So Digital immigrants have to taught as per native students need not go back to the way they were up until now.
6) The Biggest challenges for Teachers - Davied Crystal
In this talk British linguists Davied Crystal talked on that which types of challenges teachers have to face in future, because language change so fast because of Internet and globalization. So teacher have to be ready because students know well through internet. In previous time it is hard generated more words but now if you find one word and put it on face book people know within 24 hours. He mainly focus on that don’t use and learn only one English for ex – British English. Because only 2% people know this. So try to learn various English like Australian , Indian and South African English through listening and writing comprehension. Know various dialects and languages also. Come out or forgot old notion like one kind of thing is correct English. Reach for different that’s the point about language change. Then he said that in world two major job are Translation and interpreting, second is Language teaching. And he focuses on teachers salary also that 4 time teachers salary should be increase and that point to be noted. At last he said that in compare to earlier job are easy to do because of internet and it is possible also. First you have to just give your time and Google it out that whom you want to teach and through various technology and Google you do well. Ex – you want teach south African students so no need to go there but teach through online.
7) The Effect on Technology on English.
In this video Davied talked on very interesting topic that technology always has influences language quite dramatically. He gave various examples also like printing, telephone and broadcasting theses all technology played very vital role to change the language. Now Internet is too young and internet also change the way of using language. For example we used various things like face book, Twitter, Blog etc in all form we write different way because twitter has some limit of 140 characters, in face book we can write long post, blog use as a web diary so all are different. Texting massage and twit and chatting are also different. So software with the technology makes you think in different way from what you are doing before. Every internet domain that you use domain with it influence in which you use language very specific way. Some people can’t except the changes of new language like Prof. Doom, he said printing is not good and great commentator John Humfring also said that these young people raping and destroying English language through internet. But it all rubbish thing. Because the language which is used in twitting is also a standard English. So we can say that changes in language is good because static things has no life .For ex – Sanskrit language. English language is a living stream.
8) David Crystal on Texting
In this he gave his theory that “ Texting is good for the English language”. And it is very true also because now a days we also realized for doing the same thing. Because as per he said that texting is language. But some myth are also there that like it is used by kids, kids did spelling mistakes and etc. But that’s wrong. As per he proved through his theory that literacy is important, learning to read and write and best way to learning is read and write is practice and these various practice provide through technology well, because through texting more you read and more you write the better. So mobile phone is better for good literacy.
Thanks.
