Teaching technology
A teacher wrote to me: “It is obviously that Information Technology (IT) is the best field to study in college but many students do not select this field because they are afraid. What can we do to encourage them to study technology? Please advise.
Answer: Many students are afraid of Information Technology (IT) because they believe it is very difficult. Some misinformations come from their friends who probably hear from somebody who may not know anything about technology. But it is possible the difficulty came from the technology teaching approach that make students reluctant to select this field. Many Information Technology trainings begin with computer programming course when most first year students are not prepared. Few years ago, when I was teaching in Asia, I heard a professor said: “We make it difficult to reduce the number of students in IT, especially the weak ones, so we do not have to deal with them later.”
To encourage students to learn about IT, we must modify our teaching approach by focusing on the using of technology rather than the developing of technology. Computer is a tool to use, not something they should be afraid of. Rather than just telling students: “Here are things you must learn to program a computer” Teachers should focus on “Here are how computers are being used in the business, in the industry, and in daily life.”
Today young people are familiar with technology, they learn to use smartphone and tablets quickly but they do not know how these devices are being used in business and in the industry for automation and standardization. This is how a good teacher should begin the class to let them interest in the usage of technology before teaching them how to program and develop technology. A teacher should start by explaining how technologies are changing our society, how they impact business and the economy then help students to understand about their career in this field and how they can shape their future as well as their society. For example, a teacher could ask students on how they use smartphone to access the Internet. This will give the teacher some ideas about the ability of their students on using technology. Teacher could ask students how they watch movies on YouTube or how they connect with their friends on their Facebook. From these general views, teachers can explain how company search for customers' information on the Internet or how Apple makes money on mobile apps. If you start with this view, you will get students feel comfortable and want to learn more. Students should be able to answer the fundamental questions such as: What is the best thing to do using information technology? What problem technology can solve? How will my life be different if I have these skills? What job will I get by knowing this? You should let the class discuss about the usage of technology in their lives, in their family, in their society then you ask the students: “What prevents you from learning this technology?” And “How do you overcome them?”
Even when you teach programming, rather than focusing on all the things that could go wrong, you should focusing on the positive things by telling them “The only way to learn programming is by making mistakes.” The more mistakes they made, the better they will program as they will learn from their own mistakes. It is also important to go slow rather than try to finish everything according to the textbooks. Students should be able to learn in an environment designed to support their own pace. Some learn fast but other may be slow so teacher must have patience to support them by knowing their needs. Education is also a way of broadening students' understanding of the world around them so teachers should provide additional lectures on what are happening in the world, in the industry, as well as the technology trends. The key is to make technology courses more interesting for students to learn. Teachers should encourage students to access the Internet, find some interesting articles from technical websites and bring to class for further discussion. By doing this, teachers will encourage students to be active learners as they must read more and learn more. Classroom should be design where students can interact with others for discussion, debate and jointly working together to develop teamworks and collaboration skills. Today the world is moving away from the manufacturing economy, knowledge is becoming increasingly valuable. Students should NOT be taught about memorize theories and facts or perform repetitive tasks by follow basic instructions as these things will be automated by technology. Today students must learn how to think critical and how to solve problems using their own knowledge. They must develop both technical skills as well as soft-skills as these will help prepare them for their future careers.
As every country is now connected into a global economy, this will require students to be able to work on complex processes, think independently, and communicate well with others. They should develop a love for learning by constantly learning while being exposed to advanced technology and life experiences.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
