The Class, a Parody

An article by Darin Wagner    No Comments

Via Professor Michael Wesch’s blog.

I am a fan of the Office and thought this was hilarious the first time I watched it. But as I watched it a second time I was more reflective. Watching the “teacher” move from writing on the white board with a marker to presenting with a PowerPoint, distributing content on 3.5 inch floppy disks, or using Skype to display his image, doesn’t really change the instructional delivery. Still teacher delivering and students absorbing.

Knowing your instructional objectives and then finding the technology that will support those objectives is the key. I  know that sometimes educators are not aware of all the possibilities when it comes to the software, online tools, etc., to support their objectives, but there are colleagues, instructional coaches, technology staff, and even online resources that might be able to help with the technology side.

For me the first step is identifying the objectives. From this short video, I don’t think that the “teacher” knew what those objectives were, or if they did, it was on the lower level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Instead of asking “What are some of the new technologies?” a better question would  have been “How are new technologies impacting your life?” This question would engage the students on a personal level, and, as indicated at the end of the video, will help them become more involved and lead to the higher order thinking skills.

What do you think of the video? Please share your thoughts.