I will see if the group will be ok for me posting an aside on it and maybe adding a link to the sidebar!

Cheers!
Sinikka “The EFL Teacher”

Thank you very much for using my text... I am also quite surprised at some of the responses I must say! But they are very interesting

Mikko: It must be great to have computers in the hallway! You’re right in a way, students are exposed to technology everyday, but everyone is exposed to different
types and it may not always be the useful types. For example, here in Scotland most students use of technology lies within using their phones, iPods, tvs etc, and we only actually get to study anything about IT if we study it at college/university. As for web technology most Scottish students only use social networking sites like bebo or myspace and are exposed to very little. It is because of this narrow view I think that students do need to be exposed and taught about it in school... along with online security, which is another big issue.

The world is becoming technology dependent, and there’s only so much you can learn yourself.

Kim: That’s the sort of question I like answering! thank you! if you read the first couple of articles on my own blog (the link’s in the sidebar) then you will get a couple of posts relating to it.

The sort of things I would like to see is a Scottish student being able to access the internet without constantly being told that a website is blocked because it is considered hazardous to them, this opens up a lot of possibilities. I would like to see podcasts, and videos being made during class... it makes the process of learning something fun, and because of this a typical student will actually learn more from it. I suppose the big one is blogging... if you could submit an essay to the whole world through the internet and get comments on your work from around the world and from your own teacher/class, both critical and complimentary then you will get a lot out of it, and a lot more than you would have if it was just submitted to that 1 teacher for their comments.

My last way I would like to see it implemented is more of something I would like to see taught... internet safety, this is something that is seriously important on the internet and students should learn.

Markus: As I’ve said, many students don’t know where to start with a lot of technology... although we all know and can use the every day stuff, that stuff wont always be the everyday stuff... look at your grandparents for example, or even your parents, compare their technological knowledge to yours. They were never taught it and could handle the technology of their day, now they are struggling to use our technology... I definitely don’t want to fall behind like that personally, that’s why I would like to see it taught.

Päivi: You again are right, it can be taught yourself, after all that’s why I’m here... but many students can’t teach it themselves, I think it requires a lot of common sense in general to put yourself about the web and use the technology there for starters, and common sense is something which I thankfully have. I think that because of this we should not take chances and prepare students for their technology filled future however we can.

Niko: “I would say the only constant thing is that the world changes” - good insight, but this is exactly why we must teach it. Schools do not move and change... they tech the same courses they taught decades ago, and this doesn’t quite prepare students for a life in todays world... and that’s ultimately what schools are meant to do.

Aleksi: Yes, I have 2 bands actually... and am part of a couple of orchestras. Unfortunately I’ve not heard of him! although I do love a couple of Finnish bands.

One more thing Sinikka, I am currently starting a blog in my Scottish school for members of the school who want to express their opinions and start worldwide conversations, it’s not launched yet, but will be in the next while and seeing as a few of your students touched upon not knowing what it is like here in Scotland would you be interested in pointing them towards the blog after launch? I’m sure we could see some good conversations springing up because of it.

Sean “The Bass Player”

Dear Sean, I dunno how things work back in the UK, but u should see Finnish schools and the Finnish society overall. In our school we have computers in the hallway and they are used by students all the time. It sounds like our school is “hi-tech” compared to urs but I guess it really isn’t. U said that: “if students are not exposed to technology they will be left behind”. Is it really like that? I’d say that every student confronts technology every single day of their life! When it comes to studying IT it’s all up to u. Mikko

To Sean the Bass Player, I have no experience about how things are in the schools of Britain, but I do know quite a lot about the Finnish education system. I believe that our school here has incorporated the technologies around us quite well. After all, we watched the Queen’s Christmas speech on YouTube in our English lesson. What I would like to hear from you is some practical examples of how the British education system should implement modern technologies to the average day of a British student.
Kim

I agree with you. They don’t teach how to stay on top of the technological advances in the world and how to communicate effectively in the modern world. But I also disagree, because why would they have to? You can teach yourself how to stay on top in your own spare time. So I think that is enough and teachers don’t have to teach it in school. Markus

I agree with you in some point. Technology is extremely important and students shoudl be exposed to it at least a little. It sounds like we are more exposed to technology here in Finland than you. We have some IT courses at school but they aren’t compulsory. We can also use computers when we’re doing school work. But I think it’s not the school’s responsibility to teach technology. You can do it yourself as well. Päivi

Hi, I agree with your thoughts in some cases, but in my opinion we are all getting some kind of influence of technology from around us. Think about it. You go shopping to the maal and you get unconsciously messages or stimuli from every shop, every advertisement, and everything you’ve bought. And the great thing is it happens all the time. I would say the only constant thing is that the world changes. And at the same time you and me and the whole world is changing. So why should schools educate us about technology while we are doing it by ourselves unconsciously?
Niko

And to finish with - on a lighter note another message:

Dear Sean “The Bass Player”, I don’t have anything to say about this text. But because your nick is “The Bass Player” you might have a band? Do you know Bassboom? The greatest Bass Player in the world who plays in our band? Aleksi

Jeff: You’re right, there always will be some sort of way, but I wouldn’t quite call filtering ludicrous... it is needed, we just the right type of filter in place - a very relaxed one. Not treating students like numbers is very important... but when should it stop? When does it become too personal?

Carolyn: You’re right, the comments have gotten a little sidetracked, YouTube is not the be all and end all of web 2.0.

Change is the name of the game, and as long as we develop schools to be able to cope with change and be able to keep up, I guess the rest isn’t too tricky. Sometimes though, I find it hard to keep up with the changes myself, especially financially, so do you think a whole establishment will really be able to always keep at the top of the game? and if not will people like you and me ever really be totally happy?

Mary: Students do see writing as an exercise, but at the end of the day that’s all they are given it as... they are given tasks, and it’s never really on subjects they are interested in. This is something I would like to see addressed in education... students challenged rather than given tasks. Asked “here, what do you think about this”, rather than “Write a discursive essay over 800 words long on such and such”, it’s something that is sometimes done in classrooms, but not often.

I am of the beleif that “brick and mortar” classrooms will always be necissary... students need a place to focus, they need a social interaction and they need a teacher standing there to provide the occassional support, so I hope that there wont be a day when there’s only a small percentage of students turning up to school every day.

I would hope that not just academia would change, but society would change... it already is changing, and has changed lots. In the Victorian era and further back you needed to have money to be important, now you need a qualification to get a highly payed job. I don’t think this is right in a lot of cases, I mean I didn’t do too well with my highers last year, but I ain’t exactly dumb and now people will judge me by what they see on that bit of paper... for the most part qualifications are accurate, but they don’t paint the full picture... I hope society starts to accept this more in the near future.

You wrote: “To me, this begs the question: if someone of such a high stature can adapt with the times, and incorporate the technologies found around us in to something that has done its job over the past 50 years then why do these technologies not have a place in our classrooms right now? Why are the schools the only places left that don’t seem to want to adapt?”

Your question really hit home with me the day I ran across videos of funeral directors learning how to use web 2.0 tools because their customers want to use them. I thought–okay, these are tools everyone is using—so what is going on in schools? And why are we so slow to adapt?

There are of course technical reasons sometimes as is mentioned above, as well as legal reasons (like filtering laws).
However, I think we got off track in the responses, because not all web 2.0 tools involve YouTube, for example. The filtering laws are over zealously applied–and the law makes some specifications but most districts filter far behind that.

But beyond all those issues, I think is the issue of schools being able to look outside of themselves and to adapt more nimbly and quickly to change. Change should be the “name of the game” for 21st century schools. That involves changing understandings of what school is, changing ideas about learning, changing teachers, changing administrators, changing systems....

We have to transform schools so that we are open and dynamic entities. Thanks for the challenging post!

I also like the OP’s observation about how the Queen is able to change with the times. Here in the states we have been using the same basic curriclum since the 1800’s. Until we change the curriculum and get off this backwards focus on treating our students like numbers (high stakes tests which result in more funding for schools) we are going to continue to offer education for the 19th century.