"Who dares to teach must never cease to learn." ~John Cotton Dana

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Double Journal Entry #4

“Today's youths are situated in a complex information ecology within which video games are only one small, albeit important, part. From this view, video games could no more replace books than television could replace radio; rather, each digital medium settles into its own ecological niche and, as a part of that niche, its own complex relationship with every other medium.”

I chose this quote because I really love the analogy they made about how video games could never replace books, just like television cannot replace radio.  This quote stuck with me because I know I’ve been guilty of thinking the opposite; that a child who spends a lot of time playing video games isn’t reading, but that’s not true.  Children can have more than one interest, and one interest does not take away from the other.  Each medium is a separate source of information and is utilized for the user’s purpose.  They all exist together and can even complement each other, as the article showed us.  The boy liked a video game so much that he read more about it and even created his own stories.  In this instance, the two mediums worked together and enhanced the boy’s learning.

Additional Resource

When I was researching video games and digital literacy I found an article called The Fourth "R".  This article talks about how 65% of students will end up in jobs that haven’t even been invented yet, and how digital literacy can prepare them for that.  I really like the site that this article is on; they are presenting a series of articles/videos during the next year that will focus on the role of digital media in kids’ lives.  The site also has links to related content about technology, and a video about their ideas about learning in a digital world.

Resource

Wisco, Albert.  (2013, Jan 29)  Digital Literacy:  The Fourth “R”.  Retrieved from http://tvoparents.tvo.org/article/digital-literacy-fourth-r.

6 comments:

  1. Not surprisingly we chose the same quote. I do like the additional resource that you found. I wonder how they can predict that 65% will end up in jobs that don't exist? That seems like a really high number for such an unknown quantity. Factors feared the arrival of the robot, and many of those fears have been realized. What is next? Thanks for sharing these thoughts.

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  2. I like your resource. I found it interesting that a clip in the video on the front page is of a student working on Scratch, which is what we are working on in this class currently. I liked the article "Does School Need to become a Game?". It's a helpful tool for educators.

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  3. After reading your article, I tried to think back to when I was in elementary school and the jobs that exist now that didn't exist then. While I'm a few years older than the class average, I came up with several...there was nothing cellphone related, very few computer related jobs, a lot less talk of eco-friendly jobs. We live in a fast paced world, I can only imagine what kinds of jobs will be around when my daughter (who is in 3rd grade) is ready to hit the workforce.

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  4. I too like the quote you chose. It’s a great analogy and I have been guilty of thinking the opposite. I too used to think that playing games had replaced reading in children’s lives but it has only taken on a different form. I wish all gamers were inspired to seek knowledge about video games as was the Julio but it does not always happen. It is wonderful that this child was so inspired that he would create his own stories.
    I enjoyed the article you posted. It was interesting and enlightening at the same time. Technology is becoming more and more important and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. Children are becoming technologically savvy at early ages that sometimes shock me. I feel technology and education can and should go hand-in-hand. Using games and such to get students involved is a wonderful idea too bad it cost so much.

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  5. I'm glad these readings are helping us to take a middle ground approach were we are beginning to see digital media as another form of communication,activity and learning rather than as a replacement for traditional forms of communication and learning!

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  6. Abigail, I also thought a lot about the quote about the different forms of media and their functions. It really made me think. It makes sense that they each have their own purpose and niche, and will not "cancel each other out," as I believe many older people believe. It is important to not let our own biases get in the way of what is the new way of the world. The article about the jobs that haven't been created yet is mind boggling. I have read and heard some about all sorts of new jobs that will evolve in the future, and it has a lot of meaning for teaching the students that will be affected by these jobs.

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