23 Things Project

I am doing the "23 Things Project" as part of my own professional growth over summer 2011. The first couple of activities involved viewing two videos about media and mobile devices and today's students. Both videos offered interesting facts and figures as well as an interesting view of students and their ideas about learning. My initial reactions to the videos are that society is currently overwhelmed with media through mobile devices, computers, television,etc and students want teachers/parents to "engage me." I fully agree with the total connectedness of our society, but wonder if that is necessarily a good or bad thing...or even if one can make this determination? Do we need downtime from the overload? How much can the human mind process? Are there ways to help a person process that to which he or she seeks or is exposed. As far as the students are concerned, I wonder about the "engage me" requirement that students desire. Each student is different, and I do not see how any single person can possibly engage an entire classroom of students. Letting students have input into the process makes sense, but are students truly ready for that responsibility? As part of this idea, students want to be taught how to think...that is part of the problem. Is it not inherent to human beings that we think? Obviously, these are huge issues to consider, but I am still thinking...

A second part of the project involved the habits of lifelong learners. I believe the most important aspects of idea is the openness to new ideas, skills, and behaviors. I think part of education's problems lies in the balancing of control and the social norms for school and society. The hardest habit for me is idea of viewing problem as challenges. I tend to lean toward obstacles and complications...need to work on that. The easiest habit is accepting responsibility for my own learning. I like to learn. It's is that simple and look for ways to help me in this endeavor. One complication to all of this is staying organized...that is a huge challenge for me in learning and in life.