Response to "A Vision of Students Today"

    Parts of this video “A Vision of Students Today” resonated with me. Particularly the clips of the video produced by Dr. Wesch’s students. We have all sat in a classroom and been given an assignment and had someone ask what the minimum requirements are.  And we have all probably been in classes where we were not motivated to do more than the bare minimum. Looking back on my college career this was especially true in most of my GE classes which makes me disappointed when I look at my student loan statements. I too have paid for classes and textbooks that I rarely attended and never used.

    As a future educator I want to avoid making this mistake with my students. I want them to be involved and have responsibly for their learning. I hope that by creating student centered activities where students must work through problems themselves will help to create this type of learning environment. This includes the application of new technologies for collaboration and research. I really liked the quote form the video clip that we don’t want to help our students be knowledgeable but knowledge able, meaning that we shouldn’t be pushing students towards memorizing and applying knowledge but help them learn how to access the information they want when they want it. I completely agree with this statement and my goal as a science teacher is to help students apply logic and scientific thinking to solve problems in their lives using the technology and the resources available to them.

    This video began with a cautionary tale about media and technology. When new technology was introduced into a native village it changed the structure of the society. I think that we can see this happening within our own culture with all of the social media and networking abound. I hope to help my students find a balance between use and overuse of these potential tools. Today’s students should learn how to harness the positive attributes of these technologies while realizing that they can be all consuming, and that being ‘unplugged’ also has importance and value.