Future of Media
_The
fictional discussion will illustrate different attitudes towards the role of
new media in schools in 10 years. My
personal opinion is illustrated in a mind map you can download I included some
aspects mentioned in the following conversation in the mind map.
A Fictional Conversation - What will be the role of new media in the future?
I created the comic using the webtool "Witty Comics".
_Mr. Smith: In my opinion, teaching multimedia
has a negative consequence, i.e. content gets less important. But we have to
educate our pupils in that way that they can reflect and be critical about
particular topics. Besides, why should we teach our pupils to use tools they
can already use and they are using all the time?
Mr. Thomas: I can agree to you in so far that my son and his friends are using the computer a lot, but only for having fun – it’s a toy.
Mr. Smith: As we can see, pupils use new media it in their free time. Why should we additionally integrate the computer in the classroom? And we all heard about the negative consequence of using new media. The social competence of our pupils is influenced in a negative way. They often withdraw themselves in cyber worlds. Every time I’m crossing the schoolyard, I can listen to several pupils who boast about having 300 friends on facebook. It is alarming. Can they still appreciate real friendships? Do they know whom they can trust in real life? I doubt it…
Mrs. Snow: It’s an interesting observation. I’m also concerned about my daughter. Immediately after she has left school, she sends almost 10 text messages to her friend, although they saw each other in school. What is striking is that they do not know what to talk about when they’re seeing each other in the afternoon.
Mr. Smith: Exactly, I observe that our pupils do not talk to each other during recess periods and the younger pupils do not play on the school’s playground. Today, our pupils prefer isolating themselves with their headphones listening to music. As soon as they leave school grounds, they have their mobile phones in their hands not taking into account their environment.
I’m absolutely in favor of interdicting mobile phones and it would be a good idea to restrict the use of new media severely in school. We have to ask ourselves which view of the world we are conveying to our children. Do we want our children to live in parallel worlds?
Apart from that, we have to think about the dangers we expose our children to. Take the example of the teenage girl living in Berlin. Last summer she invited the whole virtual community to her birthday party and the police had to intervene. The example is a warning. It shows that the use of new media is an excessive demand for our children; they are unable to use it in an adequate and responsible way. There are numerous examples. Think of cyber mobbing and severe psychological consequences. Think of ongoing discussion for years about video games and their effects. Given these conditions of our social reality, should we focus on using new technologies in schools? In my opinion, we should not equip our pupils with media competence, but the main goal of our educational system has to be to equip them with values for a future worth living.
Mr. Zahir: Mr. Thomas, you have to admit that you exaggerated. You have to differentiate between media use and psychological problems. However, I think you are absolutely right in questioning if our pupils can use new media in a reasonable way. I doubt it, too. But do you not conclude that teachers have to contribute to a change? Should we not prepare our pupils to use new media in a responsible way?
Mr. Thomas: Right, I expect that my son learns in school how to use the computer and new media adequately.
Mrs. Snow: In my opinion, schools have to show pupils how they can work with new media.
Mr. Zahir: You can be sure that schools accept responsibility. Schools are currently developing media concepts. I agree to you, Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Snow. Pupils have to learn in school how to use media and they have to be critical about new media. Mr. Smith, I think you agree to that, too. In school, pupils should be supposed to use new media as working tool. This is particularly important. Think about their working lives. Pupils need to be prepared for the use of new media as proficient usage of media is a crucial qualification. For instance, they have to be able to use word and excel. In universities, students have to be able to give multimedia presentations. Students and employees have to be able to communicate via email, intranet, learning platforms, and so on. For this reason, I’m glad that these aspects found their ways into official guidelines. Teachers are expected to deal with new media as acquiring media competence is one institutional aim. It is interesting that the tasks of our final exams have also changed. Nowadays, A-level students are might be confronted with the task to analyze a film. This example shows that teachers have to change their teaching concept. How many teachers are currently teaching how to analyze a film scene? I think that this example reveals that a specific process has already begun: the nature of teaching and learning will change considerably in that way that the use of new media will be implemented thoroughly.
Mr. Smith: But, Mr. Zahir, we cannot appreciate these changes. How should I manage to prepare pupils for such a task? We’ve got only two Spanish lessons a week. Thus, we have no time for watching movies. It is more important that language learners acquire basic language competences. We have to do grammar and vocabulary exercises.
Mr. Zahir: I can see your point. I would also like to have a better situation for incorporating new media. In my opinion, the media equipment in schools should be improved. We need appropriate technical devices, i.e. enough computers for all pupils, whiteboards for classrooms, cameras for projects, and so on. For instance, I encounter the problem that I cannot base my lessons on the use of a computer as I cannot expect that all pupils to have access to a computer at home. I’m arguing that schools have to guarantee that pupils can use new media in school.
Mrs. Snow: Mr. Zahir, are you the teacher who wrote a letter to the parents asking if our children have access to a computer at home?
Mr. Zahir: Yes, I was glad that parents were in favor of this project. It was really interesting and successful. In year 9, we read a novel. The pupils were supposed to write a weblog instead of a handwritten reading diary. The task was really motivating. Even pupils who do not like reading participated with enthusiasm and they wrote a lot. As you can see, there is another advantage of incorporating new media in teaching. It is a motivating factor.
Mrs. Snow: That is really interesting. My daughter doesn’t like learning vocabulary. Is it possible to use specific learning software? That way, it might be fun for her.
Mr. Zahir: Of course, it is a good idea. There are several advantages of using new media in foreign language learning. Teachers can use authentic language input which prompts the learning process. Currently, I’m thinking about our exchange program. I would be glad if our pupils get in touch with their exchange partners as soon as possible. They will write emails. Additionally, I’m planning a videoconference via Skype. That way, they also have the possibility of talking to each other.
Mr. Thomas: I can agree to you in so far that my son and his friends are using the computer a lot, but only for having fun – it’s a toy.
Mr. Smith: As we can see, pupils use new media it in their free time. Why should we additionally integrate the computer in the classroom? And we all heard about the negative consequence of using new media. The social competence of our pupils is influenced in a negative way. They often withdraw themselves in cyber worlds. Every time I’m crossing the schoolyard, I can listen to several pupils who boast about having 300 friends on facebook. It is alarming. Can they still appreciate real friendships? Do they know whom they can trust in real life? I doubt it…
Mrs. Snow: It’s an interesting observation. I’m also concerned about my daughter. Immediately after she has left school, she sends almost 10 text messages to her friend, although they saw each other in school. What is striking is that they do not know what to talk about when they’re seeing each other in the afternoon.
Mr. Smith: Exactly, I observe that our pupils do not talk to each other during recess periods and the younger pupils do not play on the school’s playground. Today, our pupils prefer isolating themselves with their headphones listening to music. As soon as they leave school grounds, they have their mobile phones in their hands not taking into account their environment.
I’m absolutely in favor of interdicting mobile phones and it would be a good idea to restrict the use of new media severely in school. We have to ask ourselves which view of the world we are conveying to our children. Do we want our children to live in parallel worlds?
Apart from that, we have to think about the dangers we expose our children to. Take the example of the teenage girl living in Berlin. Last summer she invited the whole virtual community to her birthday party and the police had to intervene. The example is a warning. It shows that the use of new media is an excessive demand for our children; they are unable to use it in an adequate and responsible way. There are numerous examples. Think of cyber mobbing and severe psychological consequences. Think of ongoing discussion for years about video games and their effects. Given these conditions of our social reality, should we focus on using new technologies in schools? In my opinion, we should not equip our pupils with media competence, but the main goal of our educational system has to be to equip them with values for a future worth living.
Mr. Zahir: Mr. Thomas, you have to admit that you exaggerated. You have to differentiate between media use and psychological problems. However, I think you are absolutely right in questioning if our pupils can use new media in a reasonable way. I doubt it, too. But do you not conclude that teachers have to contribute to a change? Should we not prepare our pupils to use new media in a responsible way?
Mr. Thomas: Right, I expect that my son learns in school how to use the computer and new media adequately.
Mrs. Snow: In my opinion, schools have to show pupils how they can work with new media.
Mr. Zahir: You can be sure that schools accept responsibility. Schools are currently developing media concepts. I agree to you, Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Snow. Pupils have to learn in school how to use media and they have to be critical about new media. Mr. Smith, I think you agree to that, too. In school, pupils should be supposed to use new media as working tool. This is particularly important. Think about their working lives. Pupils need to be prepared for the use of new media as proficient usage of media is a crucial qualification. For instance, they have to be able to use word and excel. In universities, students have to be able to give multimedia presentations. Students and employees have to be able to communicate via email, intranet, learning platforms, and so on. For this reason, I’m glad that these aspects found their ways into official guidelines. Teachers are expected to deal with new media as acquiring media competence is one institutional aim. It is interesting that the tasks of our final exams have also changed. Nowadays, A-level students are might be confronted with the task to analyze a film. This example shows that teachers have to change their teaching concept. How many teachers are currently teaching how to analyze a film scene? I think that this example reveals that a specific process has already begun: the nature of teaching and learning will change considerably in that way that the use of new media will be implemented thoroughly.
Mr. Smith: But, Mr. Zahir, we cannot appreciate these changes. How should I manage to prepare pupils for such a task? We’ve got only two Spanish lessons a week. Thus, we have no time for watching movies. It is more important that language learners acquire basic language competences. We have to do grammar and vocabulary exercises.
Mr. Zahir: I can see your point. I would also like to have a better situation for incorporating new media. In my opinion, the media equipment in schools should be improved. We need appropriate technical devices, i.e. enough computers for all pupils, whiteboards for classrooms, cameras for projects, and so on. For instance, I encounter the problem that I cannot base my lessons on the use of a computer as I cannot expect that all pupils to have access to a computer at home. I’m arguing that schools have to guarantee that pupils can use new media in school.
Mrs. Snow: Mr. Zahir, are you the teacher who wrote a letter to the parents asking if our children have access to a computer at home?
Mr. Zahir: Yes, I was glad that parents were in favor of this project. It was really interesting and successful. In year 9, we read a novel. The pupils were supposed to write a weblog instead of a handwritten reading diary. The task was really motivating. Even pupils who do not like reading participated with enthusiasm and they wrote a lot. As you can see, there is another advantage of incorporating new media in teaching. It is a motivating factor.
Mrs. Snow: That is really interesting. My daughter doesn’t like learning vocabulary. Is it possible to use specific learning software? That way, it might be fun for her.
Mr. Zahir: Of course, it is a good idea. There are several advantages of using new media in foreign language learning. Teachers can use authentic language input which prompts the learning process. Currently, I’m thinking about our exchange program. I would be glad if our pupils get in touch with their exchange partners as soon as possible. They will write emails. Additionally, I’m planning a videoconference via Skype. That way, they also have the possibility of talking to each other.
My opinion - What will be the role of new media in the future?
My personal opinion is shwon by the mind map. You can enlarge the mind map clicking on the picture below. I used the webtool "bubbl.us" to create the mind map.