Set up the blog.
I really found the McLaren Opening Speech tied in to many of the experiences that I have had within education. I have seen presenters struggle through technology issues and, like in the video, these struggles become the message that the audience holds onto rather then the content. McLaren's character could have finished his simple message at any point, but instead repeatedly starts over with "ladies and gentleman". The technology becomes the show and his content is lost. When he gives up on the microphone and uses the screen for the animated welcome, his content is nicely displayed and delivered.
An interesting aspect in that he became one with the technology, jumping into the screen. We sometimes see technology as becoming extensions of ourselves (or taking over). I am not sure which view to take: Was he the master of the screen, or did the screen take over. Was his content (welcome) enhanced enough by the screen to warrant the use of it? Or would he have been just as well off to simply shout out his welcome to the audience? As with technology in the classroom, I feel that it is the presenters ability to use technology to enhance rather then to distract, which I think was achieved by McLaren's character at the end.
I hope that I am not too far off the iceberg.
Interesting observations. It is certainly true what you say about various presenters and struggles that invariably occur when using technology. The presenter usually tries various things, often embarrassed by things not working. I have been there! Sometimes we pick a tool that is not really needed - as you say - if the tech was "behaving poorly", he could just resort to shouting! As I wrote this, it reminded me of a video of George Harrison singing "While my Guitar Gently Weeps" at a concert and the microphone kept twisting around (not tightened correctly?). You could almost sense his annoyance during the performance.. trying to play guitar, sing and deal with a moving mic! He did it-and the performance was impressive, as one might expect. And I think you are firmly ON the iceberg!
ReplyDeleteJames,
ReplyDeleteI concur with Mike... interesting observations, and yes, you are on the berg! I particularly like what you said about McLaren becoming one with the technology to get out his message. In the context of the classroom, I think teachers need to do the same, which means meaningfully integrating tools into their practice, not just detachedly infusing them for the sake of using them. The "art" of technology integration needs to be, I think, looked at as applied science. I'm still working on establishing exactly where should be drawn the line between art and science. After all, is poetry not a communcation technology that is grounded in the science of language? Where do "Language Arts" fit? What about "Language Science?"
Back to earth... one needs to know the capabilty of the technology and whether it can be an effective tool in delivering the message. Is technology an extension of us? I think so; it extends (lets us go beyond our natural selves)our ability to do work.
What scares me about being one with technology is how overbearing, controlling and eventually overpowering it could be. Where do we draw the line? Especialy between the virtual and the real. Second life (www.secondlife.com) by Linden labs can be addictive and eventually become firstlife! How do we handle this?
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion. I agree when Gary says the technology is an extension of us. It is after all a tool to help us do various tasks more effectively or tasks that we ourselves can not do. This discussion is related to the one happening on Ben's blog, the idea of technology shaping us... I also agree that we need to think about which technologies we use in education, do they improve learning? Now I do believe we should use technology, after all I teach teachers about this, however, we need to do so with careful consideration.
ReplyDeleteI like Ben's point about the second/first life problem. I think it is something that many of our students (and even some of us teachers) are facing. Virtual worlds provide an escape for many of us, and the fun that we and our students can get from this tech can almost seem like a drug. When students are presented with a teacher who may have a low tech style (which can and does work for many) there can be some reluctance on the students part to listen. Tech for some teachers can be an "in" to grab students attention. The idea is that you don't let it take over.
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