Reflection #2

Reflection on Marc Prensky

     The first article by Marc Prensky I read was called Khan Academy and was an article reviewing the website created by Salmon Khan. This website has over 2,000 videos teaching mathematic concepts and is beginning to branch out into other subjects.Mr. Prensky stated that this website was an amazing resource but, however, was not the overall future of education but a step on the way there.Mr. Prensky argued that it is a step that will help get technology in the doors of schools, where even more technology can have an effect on education.I agree with Mr. Prensky that the Khan Academy website is a wonderful resource that I will definitely be using in my class as both a teaching tool and a resource tool.I also agree that websites like Mr. Khan’s will help technology further education in schools.

     In addition to this, Mr. Prensky also stated that there may be many children who need more than a general explanation from a teacher or video to learn subjects such as math.I agree with him and want to take this idea a step further.Teachers, and the websites created, often cater to auditory and visual learners, helping them succeed in many different subjects.However, these tools neglect the kinesthetic learners who need to feel and touch and experience things in the real world to learn them.In order to help every student succeed, out educational developments cannot forget about these valuable learners, because they are part of our future as well.

     The second article I read was called In the 21^st-Century University, Let’s Ban (Paper) Books. Marc Prensky addressed the idea that many university’s may begin to consider going paperless with textbooks and other resources, making sure to provide electronic copies of everything they require for classes.He encourages this development, saying that many books get read and then sit on the shelf for years and years, many times never being opened again.He argues that we should put have those books turned into electronic ones so we can make digital connections and share information while still maintaining the authorship of the work itself.I can understand how this could be an exciting development in education but I think that going completely paperless is both a bit unrealistic and disadvantageous for some students.

     This idea of going completely paperless is unrealistic because many students cannot afford the technology used to display all of this material.In my opinion, if the school were to go paperless, they would need to provide the technology to view such documents and books on-the-go.Therefore, the school would need to provide technology such as Ipads, etc. because with current paper textbooks, students can carry them around wherever they need to go.With electronic forms, they will need to do the same thing, so more computer clusters, etc. would not be sufficient.This therefore makes going paperless extremely expensive for universities and unless these universities are willing to spend that money, this idea still remains unrealistic.

     In addition, this idea of going paperless is disadvantageous for many students.There are many students, such as the kinesthetic learners mentioned above, that need to touch and feel and experience learning to absorb the information.How are they supposed to do this when they cannot touch anything but the technology screen? In addition to this, a university cannot go completely paperless because disability services will need to provide alternative copies of textbooks and exams, like they currently do.If a student needs an accommodation, the university, within reason, is required to meet that need.In my opinion, having a paper copy of a textbook is not an unrealistic accommodation.

     Overall, Marc Prensky has some really forward thinking ideas and strategies for technology to further assist education.However, sometimes I think he should the overall feasibility of his ideas in our current time and the funding it would take to make these large changes.

Thank you,

Olivia Brownson

Click here to view the websites this article is commenting on:
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-Khan_Academy-EdTech-Jul-Aug2011.pdf
http://chronicle.com/article/In-the-21st-Century/129744/