Hello! I came across this article titled "Let's Ban the Binder" which talks about the new modern age of schooling. It's about a 7 paragraph article and doesn't take very long to read! It talks about not using a binder but instead using digital tools. I liked how it progressed by talking about how in the 60's and 70's they used chalkboards to copy down notes, in the 80's and 90's it was an overhead projector, and lately it's been notes copied from slideshows. To add to this, I think even more recent now would be all of the smart board technology.
Check out this quote from the article I found. Let me know your thoughts. Agree? Or Disagree??
"Modern learning cannot be captured on a page, between the covers of a binder, or within the walls of a classroom. If teaching and learning are to reflect the shared, open, hyper-connected nature of learning, then the retirement of the binder could be the first brave step towards modernizing our practice."
Click here for link to entire article.
I'm good friends with Rodd Lucier, who wrote the article. I think we have to acknowledge the limitations of print. Yet schools are so print based it's really difficult to imagine how we'd live without it.
ReplyDeleteI think print and writing still has a place but, it can't be the dominant medium as it is now. The affordances of digital is not only more powerful but most people aren't tapping have of what it could be. The shift is slow, the idea of banning, while perhaps seen as extreme, might be a mindset we'll need.
I agree! It would be neat to see into the future about 20 years to see where technology has taken us in schools. I bet 20 years ago teachers never would have thought that they would all have smart boards in their room instead of projectors!!
ReplyDeleteI also agree that technology has advanced teaching in so many ways. It is incredible how many changes have happened in the mere four years since I finished my high school education.
ReplyDeleteOn my first day of internship, I went to a mentor-ship workshop with my cooperating teacher. We actually had the technology guy (I'm not sure of his actual title) challenge us to go paperless with our planning through the use of Google. Through Google, one can create unit plans, lesson plans, and sites that can be easily shared with others and added to in the process. For me, this was easier said than done. I still like to have paper copies of things and put them in binders which I store on shelves and flip through when I am looking for something. However, now as I am preparing my portfolio and getting ready to highlight some pieces of my experience, I think it would be much more efficient to have this online, in one place rather than the huge stack of boxes containing files and binders that currently fill my living room.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't think that schools will ever go entirely paperless but I do think in the next 10-20 years we will see a significant decrease in the amount of paper used. Just a quick example that I saw in my school was sending out school newsletters via email rather than paper copies. This saved the school nearly $400 and also decreased waste product. The school had a list of families that didn't have access to computers, internet, or email and still provided paper copies for these people but everything else was done online.
Very cool. This will be the end process for schools everywhere without a doubt. I just hope it's a smart choice; only time will tell. On another note I like how you put the "here" as the link and see if you can have the link open in a separate tab so I can easily go back to your site and also explore this article. Just a suggestion because I like being able to do both if you like it this way that's cool too.
ReplyDeleteCallie I totally agree with you! I've been graduated four years too and so many things have already changed.
ReplyDeleteLindsay I agree too! I personally like paper copies, but like you said, when you want to find something quick, technology is the way to go! You can easily and quickly search for things to find them. You can't go to a bookshelf with papers and binders and search quickly and efficiently for a keyword in a paper!! My school also sent out newsletters via email! I remember being in elementary school, and we had notes or papers going home almost every day (or at least a few times a week!)
Lusia that's a good suggestion - thanks! I noticed with hyperlinks that there's a little checkbox where it says "open a new window when clicked." I've been using this now for hyperlinks because its convenient I think! Then it opens a new tab so you can read the article or link and then go back to your other window!
Thanks for the comments everybody! :)