Article: Backup Education?: Too many teachers see education as preparing kids for the past, not the future by Marc Prensky
According to Marc Prensky, having a “backup education” is not the way to go. He believes that teachers should focus more on technology and the future of their students rather than resort back to teaching the basics. Prensky believes that the basics should not be taught the way the basics used to be taught because with all the technology that is out there, there is no need to memorize most things because students can just look it up.
I have mixed feelings about “backup education.” I agree that with all this technology, students should be taught how to use this technology and be taught using this technology. I believe that students should be taught 21st century skills. Students must be able to live in this world. Teachers must prepare students for the future.
I believe that technology is very useful but I do not think that students should be dependent on technology. As a teacher, I would want my students to be well rounded. Today, well rounded means able to use and function with the technology that is around us and be about to think critically and use the knowledge that they have. Students can always look things up when they need to know something but I believe that students should know the basics off hand. Students should be able to do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division without a calculator.
“Technology will become a billion times more powerful, likely more powerful than the human brain” (Prensky 3). This is so scary. Teachers should teach students so that their brains are the powerful source of knowledge. I know it would be silly to memorize everything that the computer or your phone can simply give you in one second but I still believe that students should learn some of the basics so they are not dependent on this technology but at the same time students should learn how to use the technology so they know how to look up the things that they want or need to know.
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your summary, i feel like you and Marc Prensky are actually on the same page. I don't think he believes that students should not learn simple math, and the basics. I think he is implying that at the harder levels we need to teach them information about the topic, but we do not need to drill into their heads information that is at their fingertips. For example, the date of the start of WWII, or the first scientist that came up with the theory of plate tectonics. That information is can be easily looked up, but how to add, and how to form a sentence, those are things that people should know to make their day and life easier.