Michael Wesch (2011) produced another thought-provoking video called “Rethinking Education” to discuss how knowledge is created and consumed in today’s society compared to how it is taught in universities. The video describes today’s knowledge database as a radical form of knowledge that is all created from collaborative input (Wesch, 2011). Information is provided through digital tools that allows collaboration between peers to create a knowledge database (wikipedia) instead of a select group putting together a database (encyclopedia). This is a problem because the formal education system has not caught up to the changes in information sharing and creation (Wesch, 2011).
The video challenges the audience to rethink universities and how they would be rebuilt using technology to prepare its students for the real world. It does not go on to suggest how these changes would be made. It is kind of intriguing to think about. Even though I teach elementary school, I face the same problems. Universities have large classes and the easiest way to assess them all is to tell them what to study and assign a multiple-choice test. I remember being in a large lecture hall of up to 200 or more students when I was in college. How would a professor have time to teach and assess all those students if they were given projects to complete? As an elementary school teacher, I feel the same. I don’t have over 200 students, but with 34 students and a multitude of topics to cover in one year, how can you create projects for students to complete using Web 2.0 tools and fully assess their capabilities? I’m not saying it’s not possible, but with all the pressure teachers feel from administrators about meeting rigorous standards by a certain date, we don’t have the freedom to alter the way we teach and assess. Maybe this is the first step in the process. We need to lighten the pressure of standardized test scores. Or maybe we need to create tests that do not require knowledge-based answers, but instead process-based answers. If students have access to google on a daily basis, why can’t they have access to it for tests? Then the tests can be based more on the process of acquiring information instead of being based on how much knowledge was acquired. I like the way this video challenges the audience to rethink the formal education system. Something does need to be done. The next step is to find out how to begin the education reform.
Resources
Wesch, Michael. (2011, January 24). Rethinking Education. [Video file] Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xb5spS8pmE&list=PLbRLdW37G3oMquOaC-HeUIt6CWk-FzaGp&index=9
The video challenges the audience to rethink universities and how they would be rebuilt using technology to prepare its students for the real world. It does not go on to suggest how these changes would be made. It is kind of intriguing to think about. Even though I teach elementary school, I face the same problems. Universities have large classes and the easiest way to assess them all is to tell them what to study and assign a multiple-choice test. I remember being in a large lecture hall of up to 200 or more students when I was in college. How would a professor have time to teach and assess all those students if they were given projects to complete? As an elementary school teacher, I feel the same. I don’t have over 200 students, but with 34 students and a multitude of topics to cover in one year, how can you create projects for students to complete using Web 2.0 tools and fully assess their capabilities? I’m not saying it’s not possible, but with all the pressure teachers feel from administrators about meeting rigorous standards by a certain date, we don’t have the freedom to alter the way we teach and assess. Maybe this is the first step in the process. We need to lighten the pressure of standardized test scores. Or maybe we need to create tests that do not require knowledge-based answers, but instead process-based answers. If students have access to google on a daily basis, why can’t they have access to it for tests? Then the tests can be based more on the process of acquiring information instead of being based on how much knowledge was acquired. I like the way this video challenges the audience to rethink the formal education system. Something does need to be done. The next step is to find out how to begin the education reform.
Resources
Wesch, Michael. (2011, January 24). Rethinking Education. [Video file] Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xb5spS8pmE&list=PLbRLdW37G3oMquOaC-HeUIt6CWk-FzaGp&index=9