Cathy Davidson's Project Classroom Makeover is a look into non-convential learning techniques in the 21st century. The essay is centered around the decision of Duke University and Apple to distribute iPods, in a variety of ways to multitudes of students on campus. Phrases such as collective learning, crowdsourcing, community, and interactive show how Davidson perceives education to be best realized. These words also serve as a defense of the decision of Duke University (partly on her part) to engage in this new technological experiment. The essay is structured so that it begins with the reasons why the iPod initiative makes perfect sense in a world where the use of the internet is gaining traction among many people, especially at a young age (the Pokemon example). She goes on to discuss how the iPods usefulness in the classroom and university as a whole was realized and then continues onto a critique of the the American education system, noting its industrialized nature and "standardized" failings. Davidson notes that children who do not fit in the mold of the education system are often labeled as special cases or slow. She closes her essay with a nice account of one of the best teachers she had ever seen, her mother-in-law, and her innovative teaching techniques that kept the students interested. Overall the essay felt like a defense of her using iPods in a learning environment rather than a balanced account of the decision she made. Perhaps I am biased as a reader for seeing this way because I have lived and seen throughout my educational career what value technology has in the classroom and overall I believe the benefits are overstated. I definitely understand the value of learning the, "inestimable skill of responding to a challenge.", but I also see the shortfalls of technology in a learning environment. Perhaps if I read this ten years earlier, when the internet was still burgeoning and technology was far less utilized in the classroom, I would have seen this essay as a fantastic account for how our educational system can transition to one that is more connected and values collective, creative learning more than a correct answer.
I like your point of view of with how Davidson's essay came off as more of a defense. I too share some of the same experiences in the classroom; most of the time people use the school's Chromebooks to browse the internet instead of working on their research paper. There is even the case with how Davidson does not really provide a strong statement to advocate new technology or teaching methods in the classroom. As she closes off the essay, she leaves the anecdotes and facts given as simple statements than rather than support for her initial arguments. The lack of an overall main, imperative idea does make the essay seem like a simple defense of the iPod experiment.
ReplyDeleteI like the point you make about how the essay is a little bit outdated. In this day an age we have already seen what technology has done to the education system and even though it has changed it, it has been more of an aid in traditional education rather than a ushering in a revolutionary new way of learning. The article probably did seem more relevant 10 years ago and that is a very good point because it does make me think less critically of the message the essay conveys.
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