Virtual vs. Reality

After watching the segment of the video dedicated to the World of Warcraft and Call of Duty games I was more than a little disturbed.  I knew that these games existed, and some of the extent to which they draw someone into the virtual world, but I had no idea of the magnitude both in terms of people playing the game and people making a living off of catering to the game players. 

First, the concept of “meeting” people through a video game is so obscure to me that it is hard to wrap my mind around it.  I grew up with an old Atari gaming system that was monopolized by my two older brothers most of the time.  The fact that people are connecting, and bonding, through a fantasy game world seems odd and unnatural to me.  When I saw the one girl say that she considered her first date to be when her boyfriend broke into a castle to get to her, I didn’t know how to react.  Part of me wanted to laugh, but at the same time it sounded sad and almost pathetic.  I realize that I am not into gaming like several million other people are, and I would be ridiculed for my lack of understanding or acceptance, but honestly I just can’t (okay, and don’t want to) comprehend the thought process behind deciding to “live” more of one’s life in a fantasy world than in a real one.  I guess I feel like there are still more pros to the physical world than the virtual one.

Some people may share this idea, yet still be enthralled by the gaming revolution.  I have known people who would openly mock World of Warcraft and then spend uninterrupted hours playing Call of Duty.  Aside from the aesthetic differences, I don’t see how these two games are all that different, but then again I am not a gaming connoisseur.  I do know that the graphics that Call of Duty portrays represent more realistic characters and places.  This may seem harmless enough, but it is disturbing to see young teenagers, especially boys, being passively recruited into the Army based on their virtual combat skills.  Even more frightening is the prospect that the line between what is real and what is a game is being blurred. 

This became even more apparent to me when the video showed that some pilots controlling drones are exhibiting PTSD.  These men were trained by the Army to see what they were doing as real and having real consequences.  What they are doing with boys more than half the age of these pilots is less honorable.  The Army first released COD to the public, and it has quickly spread along with the message that it is okay to shoot and even kill friends because it is just a game.  The problem is that while children may be able to say all the right things, there is evidence showing that violent video games are having an adverse effect on adolescence (Gentile et al., 2004). 

Not all games are bad, and I do not want to give that impression.  Wii gaming systems are being used to get students more active, as well as the new Kinect by Xbox (where you are the remote).  What I do believe is that we need to find a balance between new technologies and reality.  I would argue that we are living in both worlds at once, but not doing a very good job of it.  I was sitting in a class once when the statistic was announced that some six hundred students had been killed in car accidents in the United States due to texting.  One student who was in the class commented that it wasn’t that many, why should it be such a big deal?  This response floored me.  As a parent I cannot imagine losing a child, let alone being okay with a relatively low death rate for something so stupid an avoidable as texting while driving (especially if the victims were not the ones texting, but just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time).  But I am getting off topic… The balance between the virtual and the real has been steadily shifting.  If we don’t get back to equilibrium I believe that we are going to be diving down the rabbit hole.  We need to keep at least one foot in reality in order to remind ourselves, and our students, that what happens here is real and cannot be undone.  Actions have consequences.

Gentile, D., Lynch, P., Linder, J., & Walsh, D. (2004). The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance. Journal of Adolescence, 27.

UnCollege - A Cure for the Common Education or a Scheme for Personal Gain?

While Dale Stephens is trying to encourage people to look for alternatives to the college experience, I am left wondering if the “young entrepreneur” is merely that, looking for his five minutes while exploiting a situation (with flaws I will admit) to make a personal gain.  I read the article on Chronile.com about Stephens’s UnCollege (see URL below for the whole piece) and found myself thinking that the ideas he proposes are not so much about learning what one needs for a particular job, but more about specification of skills that would make a person less marketable due to that very specificity.   He also states that he was homeschooled (a viable option in its own rite) and that he came up with his own ideas for projects that propelled him through learning that meant more to him than a lecture hall.  I have to question that in fifth grade he was really coming up with internships and projects on his own, but that is another one of his claims;

“Mr. Stephens has been home-schooled since fifth grade, and he says that has taught him how to find ways to learn outside of classrooms—by finding internships, seeking out mentors, and designing projects on his own. And he says he is frustrated with his experience so far at college, mainly because of what he calls ‘a gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application of that knowledge.’ In other words, he spent his time in class thinking to himself, Why do I need to know this?”

We have all had those classes where we think “When am I ever going to use this?” but in the field of education I have learned that something that I considered irrelevant at that time has been quite useful later on.  Theoretical knowledge is the foundation that I practice practical application upon.  For example, without the history of theories on curriculum I would not be able to fully understand how education has evolved to become what it is today, and therefore would not be as effective in my approaches to curriculum (and ultimately would not be as effective in my classroom). 

Then there is his last quote, “Individuals that are motivated to do it themselves definitely don’t need UnCollege.”  Isn’t this statement running against everything that he just spoke to?  UnCollege is for students who are unhappy with their college experience and feel they could get something more out of it if they did it themselves.  Personally I think you would have to be really motivated to look for other options to begin with, so why would anyone pay to do something that they can get on their own?  I don’t know, but the more I look at the idea the more the teacher in me rises up against it.

Say I wanted to become an electrical technician and though that Uncollege was for me; I could sign up for the UnCollege experience.  I would have the advantages of setting my own pace and finding information about that very defined set of skills.  I would test myself and my progress, completing projects that would help guide me to the completion of my goals.  Unfortunately I am impatient and I decide that I am done after a year.  I “graduate” myself and start looking for a job.  Here is where I start running into problems.  I have no hard evidence that I have the qualifications to be an electrical technician, and my background in education will be of little use in that field.  Next, I bypassed a lot of the material I would have learned in a regular classroom and lost the benefit of a teacher who is available regularly (whereas a mentor may be somewhat less reliable). 

Somehow I manage to get an interview, and I am unable to communicate effectively with the interviewer because I am too unfamiliar with the language and the interactions of people in this field (something I may have gotten more of if I had been surrounded by peers, and not just chatting on discussion boards).  If I got a job I would still be struggling to make sense of things, not entirely sure of how electronics work (or don’t work, or why they stop working) and after a short time this becomes clear to my boss, who fires me.  So now what?  I am back to the job hunt, which we all know is not great, especially now.   After many applications and a few interviews I am no closer to holding down a position and word has spread that I am not a qualified candidate. 

The options from here look dim.  I can go back to the UnCollege site and try again, still without any guarantee that I will come out better than I did before.  While the same can be said of a more traditional college setting, it is also true that having a degree in anything looks better on my resume.  I may not agree with that, and in fact I think that experience should count more than it does, but it is still what employers are looking for.  I don’t want to admit that my diploma means no more than a foot in the door (and costs way too much to be just a doorstop), but I can recognize that while it may appear that way I will be able to prove myself a good teacher partially because of the training I have gotten through attending college (the other part is through experience, personality, and attitudes that I bring to my work). 

Overall I find it difficult to see an idea like UnCollege becoming a real contender to real colleges.  I know that people are upset with their education, and that may feed the growing momentum to make changes.  I just hope that people realize that not are changes are in a positive direction, and in some cases can be more detrimental than helpful.  If we want to see education change at the college level I think we should work with what we already have.

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/disgruntled-college-student-starts-uncollege-to-challenge-system/29631

On a Different Note... Report Cards

The school I teach in is finally trying to make its way into the 21st century by thinking about going electronic with report cards and comments.  I am on a fact finding mission, trying to see if there is an easy way to have all the teachers input info into a blog like setting that allows the administration to look it over and make their own comments or ask questions.  If anyone out there knows of a way that your school district does this, or if you have an idea of your own that you would like to share, please let me know!  Thanks!

Conflict Resolution with Xtranormal

There are so many possibilities with new technologies in schools, and yet many administrators are cutting programs and funding as well as limiting teacher and student creativity in the process.  While not all aspects of technology are noteworthy (I have a friend who's daughter texts over 12,000 times per month), others show great potential, especially for students who are so used to being "plugged in."  

One of the possible advantages of website such as Xtranormal is the idea of conflict resolution.  When I was subbing for a local school I found out that one class uses puppets for small children who are having a difficult time communicating with each other about a certain incident.  The puppet allows the student to speak indirectly to someone else about the problem at hand.  It isn't Jimmy talking, it is the puppet.  I have seen tactics like this work extremely well (in the proper setting, and with teachers who know how to mediate).  Using a web based alternative is not much of a stretch.

The animated characters offered on the website would act as the puppets.  Some may be more appropriate than others, but given guidelines and instruction students would be able to orchestrate how they perceived a given situation.  This recreation would help the student process what had happened by allowing them to tell their side of the story, and it would assist teachers in gleaning the truth of the matter after watching clips from the students who were involved.  It may also be helpful to have a witness give their account of what happened, via cute little animals with funny accents, just to have a somewhat objective take on the scenario if the teacher had not seen it firsthand.  Eventually the students could use their characters to communicate to each other, even if it is halting dialogue with phonetic spelling and no punctuation.  For some students this would not be very different than if they spoke to the other student directly.

I don't want to say that puppets or characters would take the place of live face-to-face conversations between students.  It could be another tool however, and may even help with the bullying issue in school.  Teachers can guide students through appropriate responses on the web, practicing or role playing before having the conversation in person.

Aimee Mullins Response

The Aimee Mullins talk was very profound.  She dared her audience to question the ideals of beauty, ability, and disability.  Her way with words and imagery awoke in me the desire to see life more seamlessly, to delve into the areas that make me uncomfortable and shed light on misconceptions and doubts that I carry with me.  I was astounded that ten minutes could be so moving.

That being said, I was especially drawn to Mullins’ story about the classroom she visited.  She wanted the class to be able to ask questions and question concepts.  Her comment about fear being born out of some idea handed down from adults to children made me consider practices I have seen in the school where I have student taught, observed, substituted, and taught/teach. I have seen children take flight in the realization that reading is fun and not scary, that they do know how to do a math problem, or that they can play an instrument.  I have also seen children who struggle with subjects because they have been told that they are not smart enough, fast enough, or good enough.  In the hands of a teacher each student has the potential to flourish; it is how we teach and how we choose to see our students that will lead them towards success or failure.

Does this mean that the sole responsibility is on the teachers?  Absolutely not.  The same standards are true for parents.  I have seen five year olds who use racial slurs, kindergarteners who make sexist comments to classmates, and third grader homophobes.  It seems obvious that they were not born with these attitudes of intolerance, but that they were learned from the environment in which they were raised.  Now, I cannot go into every home of every student to confront the family, nor do I think this would be a wise course of action even if I could.  What I can do is challenge these misconceptions in my teaching.  I can help students to see that the truth behind prejudice and stereotypes is fear, and I can never give up seeing each of my students as a valuable member of my class.

I cannot change what the world thinks about people with developmental or physical “disabilities.”  All I can do is appreciate the “heartbreaking strengths and those glorious disabilities that we all have…It is our humanity and all the potential within it that makes us beautiful” (Aimee Mullins).

Sugatra Mitra Response

I had heard of Sugata Mitra’s “Hole in the Wall” project before watching this video, but I had never seen it in practice or heard him talk about what it was.  I had a vague vision of what happened and how, and that the children where learning but that because it was so informal and disjointed it would not equal the same progress that could be made in a regular school setting.  Watching this video definitely changed my mind.

            I teach a technology class to seventh graders.  When I was first approached about the position I asked what the school was expecting the students to get out of a technology curriculum.  Being in a school where enrollment for Pre-K to eighth grade totals around fifty students, I was not surprised when I learned that there was no curriculum and that I could teach whatever I thought was pertinent for the age and ability of the students.  Being a private school this is easier than in a public setting. 

I was steered towards the “Type to Learn” program by the administration as a starting point, but abandoned that thought after hearing the students’ thoughts regarding the software (which is somewhat dated).  Instead I asked what the class would like to learn about, a principle that Mitra emphasizes in his speech.  He says that children learn when there is the desire/interest to do so.  While I am not allowed to leave the class to explore the many uses of a computer unsupervised, I do allow my students a relatively large percentage of freedom in the choosing of topics that we cover.  So far I have allowed them to select areas they would like to learn more about (Microsoft Office products, how to research material, editing, and so on).  After giving a brief introduction I let the class loose to explore the different aspects of a given program or search.  I was careful to note that internet searches needed to stay within certain parameters, but the class did not seem to need the reminder.  They worked diligently to discover new and interesting facts about a common them (which they had chosen).

Sometimes I have wished that I could perform the type of study that Mitra undertook within a school environment.  Take a group of students from the schools with the least amount of resources and put them in a room with the suggested computer to student ratio of 1:4.  I agree that setting a group of students in a computer lab with one computer per child eliminates the sense of community and shared knowledge that are two key functions of the “Hole in the Wall.”  When the students are forced to interact based on need and curiosity the potential for learning increases dramatically.

Sadly I cannot replicate what Sugatra Mitra has done for several reasons.  I personally do not have the resources needed, and schools are often reluctant to allow unsupervised learning to occur except during lunch and recess times (and even then the teachers and administration do not see these times as academic in nature).  The best I can do is to continue allowing my students choices and offer them topics that interest them.  It is not as much as I would hope to accomplish, but it is more than many students experience in a more traditional setting.   

Response to Sir Ken Robinson (creativity)

The first video by Sir Ken Robinson on creativity really resonated with me.  I was one of those students that teachers appreciated because I was quiet and did what I was told, however I felt as though I was slipping through the cracks.  Quiet students are often easy to overlook, and at times teachers assume that they understand the content because they are not asking questions or being vocal.  This is not always the case.  Speaking from my own experience I was very shy and did not like the feeling I got when I told the teacher that I didn’t understand.  This happened almost across the board (math, science, social studies, and more). 

One subject I really enjoyed was ELA.  While there were still times that I did not understand how to do what the teacher was asking, I felt that I could be myself.  I was at home reading, and writing became my preferred method of communication.  I wrote short stories, poems, and wrote a chapter to a book that I had a vision for in my freshman year of high school.  Unfortunately there was a systemic crushing of my dream.  Teachers either did not believe me, or discouraged me from going any further with something so “frivolous.”  The message was clear; “Give up now before you can fail.  You’ll never be a writer.”  It crushed me, and I began using writing as a means to achieve a grade rather than seeing it as a passion.  The book I had started was quickly abandoned.

From then on my grades in high school English dropped steadily.  I was still passing, but was not producing the work that I had once striven for.  Instead of feeling connected to my writing I felt detached.  This feeling increased as I entered college writing courses and was made to write pages upon pages of material that I cared nothing about.  The point was for writing to be a formal expression on someone else’s ideas.  Any other interpretation was strongly discouraged. 

The result was that my technical writing got better, but I was suffering to regain my sense of self.  I would try to write for fun, but it was labored and sounded stiff when I read it back to myself.  Even when taking a creative writing course I found that I relied on the directions given to me by the teacher to know what to do.  I was so connected to being told how to write that I couldn’t do so unless there were specific instructions.  I had to know exactly what the teacher was looking for or else I was lost.  This is a sentiment I have heard shared several times across several subjects.  While not exactly encouraging, it did give me a sense of urgency.  

This was at about the same time that I began my core education courses as an undergraduate student.  I began writing again, as hard as it was, and stopped worrying about editing.  I also wrote lesson plans with a focus on student interests and creativity.  Like Robinson, I realized that encouraging creativity was the only way to really see the students’ full potential.  Instead of medicating the life out of our students, we should strive to find those things that they are passionate about and help them realize their dreams.

I teach fifth grade math in a very small private school.  For some of the students math is natural and comes to them easily.  For others (like me at that age) math is like another language that they cannot comprehend.  I have learned very quickly that the way to motivate both types of students to do their own personal best is to connect math to something that they enjoy, something they are good at, or something that interests them.  Recently we went over a unit on fractions, so I brought in colored pencils, markers, construction paper, and scissors and told the class to show me various fractions using the materials I had given them.  It was a simple lesson, but the creativity of the students amazed me.  One student represented eighths by creating a three dimensional flower (that I am not going to even try to describe; it was just too cool).  Another student drew a picture of the class as a fraction of boys to girls.  Everyone came up with their own representation and each one enjoyed the freedom to explore their creativity.