Reading - FUNES, V. (2008). CHAPTER TEN: Advertising and Consumerism: A Space for Pedagogical Practice. Counterpoints, 338, 159-177. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.uproxy.library.dc-uoit.ca/stable/42979227
While we continue to discuss the difficulties in integrating technology into classrooms today, technology has faced many of the same challenges for ten plus years now. It is questionable how much ground we have actually gained over that time. There may be “more” technology physically in schools, however it is arguable whether this technology is actually being used effectively, or at all, in many cases. In exploring advertising and education the pedagogies of Google and Microsoft come to mind. The what? you might ask? Although schools have (and continue to) reject being branded through advertisers like Coke and McDonalds, they have done just the opposite when it comes to technology companies like Google and Microsoft. Funding is a response as to “why” a school/board etc would brand itself Google or Microsoft. This argument loses ground quickly when one considers that McDonalds and Tim Hortons fund hockey and soccer, amongst other sports, so why not technology? I have not invested much time into investigating why one type of branding is OK, however it would be of significant interest to do so. From a pedagogy perspective, many learners see technology as an “app” and associate what they know about technology to their knowledge about companies they have experience with such as Google, Apple and Microsoft. These companies have done very well in advertising why their product is the one which offers the tools to support game based learning, inquiry based learning, problem based learning, differentiated learning and the like.
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Reading: David Wong and Danah Hendricksen, “If Ideas WERE Fashion.” Mirror Images. Diana Silberman-Keller et al, Eds. Pp. 179-198. http://www.jstor.org.uproxy.library.dc-uoit.ca/stable/42979228 When I began to read this article I felt the purpose of the fashion metaphor was to highlight the use of engagement in teaching and learning. I am a strong supporter of ensuring that instruction is provided in a relevant and engaging format as to aid in transfer. Without transfer, the learner will not remember the information for future use.
As I read further into the article I began to see the use of "fashion" as a learning tool. It was this reflection which brought me to consider what impact "fashion" had or has on learning. One example I thought of was the previous perspective that only nerds and smart people wore glasses. There was an episode of Happy Days where the "Fonz" was rejecting glasses because they were uncool. Obviously the impact of glasses on learning is fairly simple when you consider that when you can't read the board, you are likely to struggle. For learners in those days, glasses weren't fashionable and were in fact "uncool". As such, if you wanted to be "cool", you didn't wear glasses. Glasses have evolved since this time and have become a fashion statement in their own right. In today's society glasses are "cool" and kids today ask for their parents to buy them glasses even if they don't "need" them to see. This change in attitude means those learners who need them are able to wear them without the fashion faux paux concern. The impact on learning for those students is positive as a result of this shift in fashion. |
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