We are indeed in a different generation when it comes to education and our approach to students. We have all sat through the long and boring lectures with hundreds of other students in the class. We can all relate to just trying to get through the school day. If you were in the sciences, then you know the long lists of academic vocabulary we were all required to learn. Well now, with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) we are moving away from such exercises. In other words, we are moving away from knowledgeable to knowledge-able. We can look these lists up on the Internet with our smart phones. Our students today have so many resources at their fingertips that we could not even imagine when I was growing up. In fact, the very first four-function calculator was just coming on the scene when I started college. It was expensive and was forbidden to be used in class. All of us had to use slide rules for our calculations.
At this time I believe the challenge is to learn what tools are really available to us through the Internet and to take advantage of them for the benefit of our students. We need to facilitate their use in the classroom for the enhancing of learning. Rather than simply having a textbook to refer to, we have the world and all its accumulated resources, and more is being added to the Internet daily.
At this time I believe the challenge is to learn what tools are really available to us through the Internet and to take advantage of them for the benefit of our students. We need to facilitate their use in the classroom for the enhancing of learning. Rather than simply having a textbook to refer to, we have the world and all its accumulated resources, and more is being added to the Internet daily.
