I recently read the article “Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom” by Ashley Hinck. In the article Hinck discussed where our educational system stands in terms of technological skills and where she would like the system to turn. In the article Hinck speaks about how the educational system has encouraged Template/Shortcut Platforms for students to complete assignments online. I found this extremely relatable, as this is exactly how I felt in school! In the article, Hinck mentioned that the template/shortcut platforms “are rigid”, and that, “(they) accept a narrow set of predetermined ‘correct’ answers”. Hinck continues to talk about how she has attempted to move away from the cookie-cutter platforms in her class, with a ghost of them being left behind!
I found that Hinck’s analogy of the Ghost’s in the class room very creative! When I think back to high school, I often find myself reminiscing of the projects that I completed just for a mark, that have nothing to do with who I have become today.
Ken Robinson – “We stigmatize mistakes. And we’re now running national educational systems where mistakes are the worst thing you can make – – and the result is that we are educating people out of their creative capacities”
Hinck mention that students learn to “create the product the teacher wanted – that counts as the right answer. I couldn’t agree more! Students aren’t trying to answer the questions on the test the way they feel the question should be answered, they are trying to provide the answer the teacher wants. Hinck’s goal in their classroom was to praise the students for struggling through mistakes, it helped the students become stronger and persevere! As Ken Robinson mention, “Mistakes are the worst thing you can make”. Hinck spoke about her students and that they “perceive their hesitancy and trial-and-error as a failure”. I feel that students need to learn to fail, and by staying inside of their comfort zone they will never be able to adapt and learn new things!
I prepared this Sketch-Note in a pretty reasonable amount of time. I found the sketch-note as a pretty good way to organize my thoughts about the subject as well as an easy way to link my ideas together. I like working with pencil and paper because I feel like I have a lot more control over the medium, compared to making a similar presentation on my computer. I was able to do a few rough drafts to organize my thoughts and how my ideas were going to be linked together.