Nowadays, technology
plays an important role in our lives for many reasons. As a student, although I
love reading and studying from paper books, I cannot deny that the technology
is very helpful by let me earn interesting knowledge from several online
resources.
According
to “Textbooks replaced by iTunes U downloads”, teachers at the Stephen Perse Foundation School
in Cambridge are making their own online lessons and course materials which
students can study everywhere and learn more in interactive resources. There
are also many online classes which provide globally and students around the
world are interested in.
I have just taken a few free online courses for about a
month. I can take any courses in which I am interested for free. I have had a
chance to learn many lessons from many good professors from top universities. Although
online classes are very useful in earning knowledge, they may not suitable for
some circumstance and cannot accomplish as the real class because of lacking
participation in class. Moreover, studying
in the class that has lecturer, students understand the lessons easier and are more
energetic in sharing their ideas.
__________
Reference
Coughlan,S. (2014, March 5). Textbooks replaced by iTunes U
downloads. BBC News Business. Retrieved March 11, 2014 from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26249041
I think studying online is useful and interesting, but I don't want to use e-book instead of textbooks or supplementary sheet. For me, reading e-book and using too much computer make me have a headache and short-sighted. Besides, sometime it's more convenient for me to write something that I want on paper. So, I think sometime textbooks are better than e-book.
ReplyDeleteThank you In for this stimulating post full of ideas for us to respond to, especially your own response to the BBC News article you chose to respond to.
ReplyDeleteAs I read it, there were several points I wanted to comment on, but I'll wait to see what interests your classmates first.
I like your idea about the students' participation. I think this one is very important to develop our critical thinking skills (which I also lack this!) and there is a few courses in Thailand that really encourage students to do so (even in CU!). We can read by ourselves but cannot develop our knowledge if there is no discussion and dialogue.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kloy that reading on computer makes me feel bad. I haven't tried on the tablet like iPad before and hope that it should be better than reading on the computer as well.
While I read your blog post, I keep nodding my head because it was exactly right. That's why I decided to buy an iPad because I don't want to carry all books with me, just pdf file is enough.
ReplyDeleteFrom Kloy's problem, I solve this by adjusting font size, then I don't need to stare at document too much.
I also think that e-book and online lesson are very useful. I also the one that don't like to carry a lot of text book because it's very heavy. Also, I usually hurts my shoulder every time that I carry a heavy book for a long time. So, I think reading e-book from electronic device like mobile or tablet is a better choice for me.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Kloy. I have faced the same problem as yours. I usually have a headache or hurting my eyes most of the time that I use computer for a long time. For me, I try to fix this problem by decreasing the brightness of the screen.
So much I could say here! (And although it does include the notion of "very", that is, as usual, not the basic meaning of so here.)
ReplyDeleteFirst, like other commentators, I also love eBooks. I've been buying books, fiction and non-fiction, since I was in high school, and I have thousands of them, decorating shelves here in Bangkok and now at my brother's and mother's homes in Australia. At first, I didn't think I'd switch from paper books to eBooks - I didn't like reading page after page on my computer, but a friends bought an Amazon Kindle a few years ago, and I though it looked pretty cool, so I got one to try it. I loved it. Last year I bought exactly two paper books, and about a hundred Kindle version books, including Kindle editions of a few old favourites.
Since you've probably already inferred it, I'm being redundant in telling you that I love my Kindle, but I don't want any uncertainty. I love my Kindle. At home in bed, I usually read the Kindle version, which is most like paper, but it synchs across my phone, my tablet and my computers, so if I'm at AUA with a few minutes free, I can read a couple of pages of the current novel.
And it comes complete with the excellent Oxford Dictionary of English for very easy checking. It's not the OED, but it is a very good English dictionary. I can't remember the last time I used one of my old paper version dictionaries. I don't much miss those workouts to the arm and wrist muscles. I think it's probably time I donated them all to schools where they might actually be used. I don't think I'm likely to use them again. I've already sent my old faithful Shorter Oxford English Dictionary to join the other books adorning my brother's bookshelves in Australia - at least there, they serve as conversation starters and their bulk does add a certain something to the room, even if they are never actually used.
But it isn't just immediate access to a great dictionary that is helpful, the entire internet is there all the time for more in depth research if I want. I might be reading, for example, a book on psychology arguing that human violence and other crimes is fully determined by the brain, that there is no such thing as "free will" as commonly understood, and I want to check one of the sources cited: easy - a couple of finger taps, and there it is. Increasingly, I also write my notes online as well. And the only things I ever print at home are photographs. If I didn't like to stick my favourite photographs on my walls, I could give away my printer along with the dictionaries I never use and perhaps also the grammars I almost never use. Unfortunately, my favourite grammars are not available online yet! But I'm sure that's coming soon.
I think this comment has grown enough, and I've just finished my morning coffee. I might add another comment later.
Honestly, i am a bit old school - I like feeling of touch of paper and its smell and i haven't try any gadget yet, however, i can imagine myself use this technology in very soon.
ReplyDeleteAnyway some of my friends suggest that this kind of reading - by using tablets doesn't fit with every kind of books, especially heavy-weight books such as textbooks because with the small screen but the book is so heavy, this may be not encourage you. For me, novels, fiction, and other books that seem a bit lighter may suit with tablet reader.
I agree with Pa-naeng. I do love touching paper and smell it! (I just realized that is not normal when I started typing it on this blog!) In my point of view online classes are suited for students who can learn by their perseverance and they're supposed to have high self-regulation. Personally, I'd rather take regular classes that i can practice my communication with other people. However, I still have a positive idea about online classes, according to In's post.
ReplyDeleteI had an experience to learn like this before in Writing class that can't open because there hadn't enough students for open the class. It sounded easy when teacher told us to take course online - learn at home and had a conversation through skype application in sometime for re-check. But in the truth, we had a lot of obstacle like problem in connecting through the internet, everybody in the class online on time, etc. I think it's a good idea for new education between the people but It should plan more cover than that time. I will support this idea and hope that it will work in someday. ;)
ReplyDeleteOur globe is going to face with really large changes which have an effect on people lives in both positive and negative aspects. Definitely, the role of the newest gadgets influence ones these days. In addition, the teaching approaches in today's society is more flexible than the previous era; however, these aren't able to guarantee the student's capacity as they are taught by their teachers. It's true that the textbooks will probably vanish within this century, from my perspective as we know that several offices become the paperless office.
ReplyDelete