"Powering Students up"

http://www.scribd.com/doc/25034899/Powering-Students-Up

This article gives a solid argument that embraces the use of social networking sites in schools.

Taranto and Abbondanzo argue that with such high demand and popularity amongst social networking sites, the banning of this technology in schools is not only "inappropriate but borderline irresponsible" in order to provide the best educational experience for students.

The authors discuss that "Academic Social Networking" as the best way to incorporate social networking into the classroom as it delivers the content in an "attractive and conductive manner".and gives schools the opportunity to demonstrate appropriate use of social networking tools.

Toranto and Abbondanzo discuss the importance of teaching students appropriate social networking habits including proper use of language, spelling and grammar as well as securtity of personal information.

Entry One - So is technology taking over?

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"Robots taking over the classroom" - the title scares me a little. Immediately I envision a world where technology literally has taken over. We are already seeing the replacement of checkout staff in shops for "self-serve" checkouts, but is this really where the future lies in education? Robots taking over human teachers?

The thought of robots taking over is rather troubling, however these robots are proving to be a positive step in South Korea at the moment. Currently the robots are only being used as teacher's assistants and are filling the gap where such required staff is not available. The Government funded project is proving to initially expensive, however in the long run may work out to be economical considering they don’t require a salary.

The robots are able to fulfil duties such as checking the daily attendance, supervising, taking photos of the children, check whether a child is well or not and can lead the children in certain classes.

With such a high level of technology a clear line should be drawn as to what exactly is the role of the teacher in the classroom?
The Korean Government states that they do not wish to replace teachers, but give them an invaluable tool. This reminded me of a point a fellow classmate brought up: "ICT stands for 'It Can't Teach.'" A point I completely agree with. These robots can be programmed to do almost anything, but however great the technology; it will never provide the same human qualities that constitute great human teaching.

Video:Robot Teachers Taking Over the Classroom. (2010) video retrieved 26/06/2010 from http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=89874776