Media Technology's Role in Teaching
Hello! My name is Eunice (Euni), and it is very nice to meet you! I am an ESM senior at CSUN and am planning on hopefully becoming a middle school English teacher in the future. As such, I believe it is very important to keep up with modern teaching methods. I believe that when used effectively as a tool and not as a replacement for education, media technology can be an amazing resource for students who are growing up in the peak era of advanced media technology. Technology advances at a frequent rate, and as such, rather than trying to hold on to only traditional methods of teaching, educators should strive to implement media technology in a way that does not sacrifice the quality of learning but enhances it to meet the new needs of students in this day and age.
With AI advancements, many people may wonder if future generations of students will be taught not by human teachers but by computers and robots. However, I do not believe that is the case if we as educators (and future educators in my case) emphasize media technology as a resource to enhance learning. I have seen in some of my college classes how my peers were able to use AI in effective ways. While the most common way people think of using AI is to completely replace creative ideas in exchange for a chatbot's output, I believe that AI can still be used to help aid research and assignments without being used for the writing process itself. I have seen instances of others using AI for search reasons alongside Google or for the brainstorming process to gather information (and making sure to thouroughly fact check afterwards at all times!) before developing original human-made ideas into words. I have also seen ineffective uses of AI in which students tried to use ChatGPT to find sources or quotes, only to receive links to scholarly sources that have never existed. On the contrary, another beneficial way AI has been used that I have witnessed is for test preparations and studying. AI can be helpful in giving practical examples in topics and give reasons for incorrect or correct answers with practice questions. It can also be effectively used for organizing information and notes in a way that can help the memorization and studying process. When AI is used for brainstorming, test preparation, and studying, it can be an effective way to improve the learning process without interfering with the process of writing or doing assignments and research. AI is effective when used as a tool and helper, not as a test-taker or a writer.
Regarding other other examples of media technology, social media and the production process of social media posts can also be effectively used in the classroom. In my own educational journey and when observing other classrooms, I have seen how applying social media concepts to the classroom can make topics more engaging, entertaining, and approachable to students whose generation is well aware of social media even at a young age. Social media can lead to creative projects to not only allow the students to apply what they know about social media but also what they know about the taught topic. Examples of these creative projects can include making imaginary instagram accounts of characters and historical figures (illustrating that the student understands these people well enough for this), filming podcasts about discussing certain topics, and applying topics to social media trends. Using modern media technology concepts in the classroom can address the students' creativity, knowledge on the topics, and provides engaging and memorable methods to learn new topics. Media technology should not replace the concepts and topics taught in the classroom and should not be used solely for convenience. On the other hand, it also should not be avoided for fear of the negative aspects commonly associated with using media technology in that it destroys learning and aids plagiarism and cheating. When used effectively, modern media can improve the quality of learning and can help apply any topic/subject taught to the modern world and the new generation of students.
Great post. I agree with many things you're saying here, especially about AI. I started experimenting with ChatGPT almost right away after it was released, trying to see what it could and couldn't do. I'm actually interested in developing my writing, so I had little interest in having it do assignments for me. I found instead, as you seem to have as well, that it is amazing as a kind of personal assistant. I'll have it drill me for tests or analyze the structure of my papers to see where I've veered off course. I'll feed it my outlines and have it help me iterate better versions. I'll ask it to spot cliches. And I'll have use it to run a final polish on my spelling and grammar (don't tell the teacher!).
ReplyDeleteWhat some younger, inexperienced students and writers don't know is that AI is actually not very good at writing. It can write a smooth and grammatically correct paragraph, but it doesn't have a voice and it doesn't always make the right syntactic choices. A sentence can be technically correct but awkwardly constructed. And it can't come up with an interesting or unusual perspective on what is being analyzed—being constructed of not only language but pre-existing ideas, it lacks the ability to truly invent.
I believe that the real place for AI is in the hands of teachers. AI will be an amazing teaching assistant in the future, and it will help teachers target their instruction in overcrowded classrooms. As for student use, my idea is somewhat radical. I don't think students should even touch it until high school. I'm aware, however, that technology is way too embedded in schools already and that we can't put the genie back in the bottle. (See? There's a cliche AI could catch:))
I really resonated with what you were saying about the ways in which technology can be incredibly useful in the classroom. You’re right: used poorly or for the wrong reasons technology can be incredibly detrimental to learning yet fear of this shouldn’t stop its use all together. As tempting as it is to take a queue from the Luddites and smash all the machines, ditch our phones, and banishing technology from our classrooms may be, it wouldn’t be helpful in the long run. Implementing tech is and specifically AI is a unique challenge to us future educators. I think you’re right, a lot of people use AI irresponsibly but it’s not inherently evil. It’s a tool same as any other. I’ve found generative AI chat bots are excellent for hyper-specific questions that regular search engines like Google would normally struggle with. But I also know to always check the source. Students should be taught the same.
ReplyDeleteHi Eunice! I enjoyed reading your post and the effective points you made about the use of technology in the classroom. As you stated, technology should be used as a tool, not a substitution for education. Balance is always necessary to maintain a safe and healthy learning environment. Although technology can be misused and quickly create issues, such as reliance on AI sources and distractions, it remains a valuable tool. I like that you included examples of creative ways technology can be used in lesson plans because I have also participated in social media assignments like the one you mentioned. I enjoy creative projects based on social media because it allows people to bring in their personal experiences while demonstrating their creativity. In short, technology is here to stay, and we should embrace it as an invaluable tool.
ReplyDelete- Melissa Catalan