Absolutely! Well, let me elaborate, computers don’t do the teaching, but they provide a way for motivated people to teach themselves. The internet can be bad in some ways. For example, what you sometimes see on sketchy pop ups is not a plus to the internet in my opinion, however, it is also an extremely powerful tool. There is so much information stored online, that anyone, even a child, who is interested in something, can find tons of information about the topic as easily as typing the topic into Google.
Let me be clear that I don’t think that computers alone make people begin learning spontaneously. There needs to be desire, curiosity, and interest. Without these a computer is just an expensive hunk of useless metal. The want to use a computer has to be there first and foremost. If children can find interest in a subject, they find themselves motivated by their curiosity to learn more. To even further this effect, a problem or question can be posed to a group of people. This will tend to ignite the curiosity that is needed to motivate them to discover, all they need is the equipment to enable them.
In truth, computers can’t make someone learn. Neither can teachers, parents, friends, or even employers. The only thing that can make a person learn is motivation, without motivation, what propose is there to taking in new information. Motivation, however, does not necessarily come from curiosity. One can be also be motivated by teachers who are willing to offer their knowledge, parents who care about their children’s future and well being, friends who offer friendly competition and moral support, and even employers who will often pay more attention to those who are motivated. Motivation is key in learning and it does not escape this rule for technology. The motivation to use technology must be there in order for it to be used.
I am motivated to learn by a lack of knowledge. If I do not know something and realize I do not know enough about it I begin to seek answers to the questions I don’t know. I am also motivated to learn by the people I am surrounded by. My friends, family, church, and teachers all motivate me to constantly question and seek answers and knowledge. Yes, I do teach myself quite often. Just the other day I was wondering why it is I hate mayo but love mustard. I got on good and searched why people dislike certain foods. I found out in the end that most food dislikes are caused by taste aversions. It was something I now know that I had never known. I teach myself whenever. My learning does not have a certain time or day it is simply when I need to know something.
Teachers play a pretty significant role in how much I learn about a certain topic for sure. An example would be anatomy class. My teacher greatly stressed learning all the bones in the body but when it came to learning the muscles she didn’t really care. Now looking back on this class, I can still name almost every bone in the human body even though it has been two years. But how many muscles can I name? Not many. Teachers greatly influence what you learn in a class.
The most memorable thing about this video is the children. How much they really wanted to learn. It is so important for teachers to try to motivate students even if it is difficult. Those children really inspired me to be the best teacher I can be for them. I believe this video should be watched by teacher all over America as an example of how students should behave. The lack of motivation in our schools is scary and really should be a concern for anyone in or going in to education.
Did you learn about the bones because you wanted to or because the teacher tested you on bones and not on muscles?
ReplyDeleteIn your previous post you wrote: "Without a teacher there is no driving force behind a students learning, no assignments, no direction, nothing to do but "learn" about a subject." Have you changed you mind? It appears that is the case. Why? Or am I wrong?
I learned about the bones mostly because she tested us on the bones and because if you have ever taken anatomy you know that the bones are far easier to learn that the muscles are (in my opinion any ways). No, I have not changed my mind but I am now realizing that you took that statement a bit differently then I meant it. I did not mean in any way that learning about a subject was bad. I simply meant that looking at a whole subject could be quite frightening without any direction. I would not know where to start if someone told me to go home and learn about calculus 4. Teachers really come in handy when you are trying to learn about something because they give you steps and guidance to make it easier. At the end of the day, I begin to wonder if it really matters how you learn at all as long as you do learn. Just as their are a thousand different ways to learn their are also a thousand different ways to teach. The key is to make sure that you learn in the best way you can and to help others learn when you teach.
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