Phil and Paula recently attended (tried to attend) the Indiana Tech Conference hosted by the Indiana Computer Educators. The conference was ultimately cancelled due to the weather in Indy, but Phil and Paula were able to hear one speaker...some notes from Phil:
"A keynote speaker at the Indiana Tech. Conference, Ian Jukes presented some timely, eye opening information. Ian is a former teacher & administrator and has authored many books and articles on the new "Tech. Revolution". Some of the key points that I took away from Mr. Jukes report included the fact that today's learners (our students) are actually "wired" differently than we are, and if we expect to meet their needs educationally, we need to "re-wire" our way of connecting with them. For example, it has been scientifically proven that adults read and absorb written material best as black text on a white background, today's learners are unconsciously disturbed by this and actually read/absorb colored text (red for boys, orange for girls) on a pastel background the best. When it comes to retaining information, we (learners) retain about 10% of what we hear after 1 year (with a little prompting or refreshing) however, that number jumps to 60% retention if that material we were presented was also backed up by a visual aid during the presentation. Mr. Jukes presented the definition of insanity - stating that it is "continuing to always do the same thing, expecting different results." Which is not the answer to reaching learners today. While the answer may not always be clear, sometimes it is closer than you think, and this statement was backed up by a very thought provoking experiment.
Phil Scott
Computer/Technology Instruction
Lincoln Jr. High School
Plymouth, Indiana
pscott@plymouth.k12.in.us
Computer/Technology Instruction
Lincoln Jr. High School
Plymouth, Indiana
pscott@plymouth.k12.in.us
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