Wednesday, December 8, 2010
The Pandora Classroom
Our next episode is up and available to download. In this episode, we discuss the Freakonomics podcast episode entitled, How Is A Bad Radio Station Like Our Public-School System. Take a listen to the podcast on their website (and become a regular listener, I'm a big fan), and then take a listen to our own episode entitled The Pandora Classroom. It sparked some interesting discussion - anything that causes Simon to rant as much as he does in this episode is worth the time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
http://www.pandora.com
ReplyDeletePlease don't take this as a plug for pandora, I actually don't own any stock. Thought it might be helpful for any follower who might like to take a look to broaden their understanding of the banter tonight.
I really liked the pandora tag line though on the Website. Thought it might stimulate some discussion. Wonder how it would apply to education...
"It's a new kind of education - stations that play only the education you like.
Okay Boys...am I going to have to not only listen to TBOTC every week, but also the podcast that you refer to in your show? So much work! :-)
ReplyDeleteThe School of One is an interesting use of technology, but, frankly, not the most creative use of technology. I think that it is about time that someone has integrated content learning to feedback using technology in such an efficient and dynamic manner. The inclusion of different 'modalities' in the system is wonderful. It changes how drab most technology is used in school. A digital book typically is a PDF (a reiteration of a traditional, passive textbook). PowerPoint with all of its bells and whistles is simply used to reinforce a teacher-centered classroom (and, by the way, is a shoddy product). The most creative use of PowerPoint I've seen was the replication of a Jeopardy game (oh my!). I applaud those trying to deliver content in so many ways for the students.
But buyer beware! The content is only as good as the designers of it. I have seen publishers provide boring materials in colorful ways (and charge schools exorbitant prices for it). The content delivered with the technology must be meaningful for the student. Based on my definition of meaningful that means it must engage, inspire, and/or transform. To engage it must capture the attention of the student. To inspire it must encourage the student to want to learn more. To transform it must foster the development of a different or new view of the world -challenging the students to critically think and create!
Yes, your 'one listener' most definitely wants to know more about how they use the algorithm to reschedule the children's modes of instruction. In fact, this is the lynchpin of the system. It is where human beings meet the math that makes the choices for the students. The Pandora analogy is cute, but not even close to the mark. In education, we can be exposed to a lot of different subjects and topics. Some are already known to us, some are not. The most skilled teacher gets to know the student's interests and leverages them to learn something outside of their prior knowledge. The teacher facilitates expanding the student's horizons and thinking skill sets, such that the student can then refocus on one or more areas s/he wishes to delve deeper. Equating the rich information that could be learned to music from Pandora lessens the great and most challenging task we have as a society - to educate the next generations as we ourselves are learning. Let it not become a Burger King 'Have it your way' system.
Danny's commentary about the lack of teachers learning about the individual is my primary critique of this program. Human relationships are fundamental to education. Students should learn the best of human behavior from the teacher and fellow students (as well as parents, etc.). This is done through modeling that behavior, personal positive feedback, and putting virtues into action. All of this isn't done best through any technology, though technology can be used to drive activities that do so.
And what the heck was the story about Pandora and a funeral have to do with education? Were they telling us that: 'You too can listen to Pandora and die with peace and contentment' or 'Don't worry about education, we'll all die in the end'? It was the strangest of endings for a podcast on education.
There is no real need to listen to the podcast that we discussed. It is included more for those who would like to get involved in the discussion. I would simply rely on our sage interpretation if I was you. The last thing we want to do is create more work for "the one". :)
ReplyDeleteYou are right on point with the relationships critique though. One day my fellow kids will understand and thank us for continuing to show them the light. Some are just slower to grasp the big ideas.
And I hope we have a few more listeners. There is only "the one" when it comes to followers, but someone out there has to be listening.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHey, don't underestimate the power of 'the one'. I got a fortune cookie several months ago that said, "Among the lucky, you are the chosen one." After it inflated my ego, I started to ponder, "The chosen one for what?"
ReplyDeleteGood to have a place to asynchronously discuss education with you sages.
If by sages you mean you and I, I couldn't agree more. So far we seem to be the only sages responding. Maybe there is a power in the one or the two as the case might be.
ReplyDeleteI thought the podcast that we discussed this week adds to this discussion. Nice to keep a little flow in the banter. It seems that we have been discussing the issue of what a learning environment looks like for awhile now with different spins. I think we can agree that a learner centered classroom is best now it is just a test to see how much "authority" we can relinquish to the learner. No matter what their age!!
Yes, number 2...fear my aw-thor-i-tay! For some, if not many teachers, it has been engrained that their authority is key and 'classroom management' seems to be a common phrase for 'keeping the children in line'. In your experience, did you find setting regular patterns of behavior (and by behavior I mean the learning dynamic that was created and facilitated by you) and allowing some level of student autonomy challenging? In my workshops, some teachers find that achieving a good balance is difficult. The expectations of what a teacher does in the classroom (by colleagues, parents, students, and administration) seem to reinforce traditional practices that can be out-dated.
ReplyDelete