Turning On the Lights
March 25, 2008
Commentary by Stephen Downes

Marc Prensky takes a look at boredom in schools. "The reality is that students are, for the most part, bored. Pick an average kid, with an average schedule, and shadow him or her for a day in school-go where the student goes, sit in on all his or her classes-and see if you can stand it." Students today, he writes, learn more outside school than inside. Educators need to "give students the opportunity to use technology in school... find out how students want to be taught... connect students to the world... [and] understand where kids are going-that is, into the future-and help them get there." Via Darren Draper (who uses an unfortunate military metaphor to highlight the story).

[Direct Link] [Tags: Gaming, Schools, Online Learning]
Comments

Re: Turning On the Lights

Anymouse, March 26, 2008

Boredom in schools comes somewhat from lack of interest, but moreso from a mismatch between the pace of the curriculum and the pace a student can learn at. I wish there was more exploration of teaching methods that give students more ability to self pace. Sometimes more consideration of different learning styles could help: some students need less lecture and more time for reading or hands-on.

Why aren't the homeschool advocates replying to this post? :) They could easily argue that more individual attention could help eliminate boredom. [Comment] [Permalink] [Previous][Next]



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