The "Simpsons" Debate the Role of Social Media and Cell Phones In the Classroom
The latest episode of "The Simpsons" (Oct 5, 2009) nicely satirizes the debate over the role of social media in the classroom. Watch this episode and you'll see the debate framed as "Social Media as Classroom Distraction vs. Social Media Instructional Gimmick."
Much of the debate over the role of technology in the classroom is clouded by stereotypes of Luddites vs. Techies. What's often missed is the point that it's not about the technology, but the level thinking that technology can support. A PowerPoint can easily dumb down information into a series of shallow bullets, while a Wordle can help us to visualize text to support revealing insights.
Schools should be thoughtfully-designed learning environments where students can investigate information and be given a chance to reflect (with their peers) on what they learned and how they see themselves progressing as learners. That can be done with a variety of technologies - even pencil and paper. A social network is already sitting in the classroom that can interact with information and each other without the need to go online. But at the same time, handheld technology can support a level of investigation and teamwork that far exceeds the traditional classroom discussion group.
I'm always looking for the cheapest, most dependable, and accessible instructional tool to get the job done - depending on the situation - chalk or Twitter may fill the bill.
sure wish I could watch this in Canada
Posted by: Chris Jess | October 08, 2009 at 08:18 PM
Chris,
Sorry to hear Bart's banned in Canada!
Peter
Posted by: Peter Pappas | October 10, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Thanks as always for an interesting post.
I have a teaching friend that loves the Simpsons, so I'll have to shoot this link to her.
On Friday I used Edmodo.com to help a Socratic Seminar over the Funeral Oration by Pericles. It went remarkably well. It was amazing to see how the kids kept focused on the group discussions by using the chatter from each of the other groups as a point of conversation. Hopefully they learned a lot as well, we'll see after the assessment.
Posted by: David Duez | October 11, 2009 at 10:45 PM
Bart's welcome in Canada. It's just that Hulu doesn't cross borders.
Posted by: Anne | October 19, 2009 at 11:54 AM
Best line in the show was from Nelson. "We call your bluff. Teach us with nothing more than knowledge in your head."
Brilliant.
I have never missed a Simpson's episode in 21 years. I used to be Homer; turning into Grandpa soon.
Posted by: Ric Murry | October 25, 2009 at 08:44 PM