Book+Reviews

Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns Authors: Clayton Christensen, Michael Horn and Curtis Johnson Clayton Christensen, author of //Disrupting Class //  and professor at Harvard Business School, argues for the need of a drastic (disruptive) change in education. He examines the world of education and identifies what is wrong with it, how technology has been misused and attempts to offer a solution using his strong background in business.

Throughout the chapters of this book, there is information on the different kinds of learning styles and also how using technology to its fullest could benefit these differences. Christensen offers advice relating to student-centric learning which shifts the role of the teacher to act more like a tutor while the students learn and teach themselves at an individualized pace. Enforcing such a change in the roles of teachers and students could pose a problem if there is not enough of team playing which includes the school board, administration, teachers, parents and even the community. In order for change to happen it is critical to have support and research backing up such a decision.

Overall I enjoyed this book and how to view things from a business perspective when it comes to education. My final thoughts about the book is the fact that the book tends to concentrate on disruptive technologies from other places out there and not necessarily in education I think this book strays away from its entire suggestion of how to actually implement computers in education, there is not much attention drawn to what curriculum would be used. Not only does using computers affect the way we teach or how it’s learned but also what is to be taught. On a positive note, the book does point out how research should not just describe an observation, but also prescribe what should actually be occurring at the time of observation. In the end this book is a good read for those that teach or design learning and I recommend it to all K-12 teachers.

"Don't Bother Me Mom--I'm Learning!" Author: Marc Prensky Publisher: Paragon House Publishers Pub. Date: February 2006 Pages- 350 Price: $19.95 ISBN-13: 9781557788580

"Don't Bother Me Mom--I'm Learning!" by Marc Prensky is an interesting piece on how video and computer games can possibly encourage kids and teenagers to learn certain skills. Prensky gives information about games that made their way onto store shelves and the skills they can provide for children's minds. His reasoning leans toward the integration of gaming to assist students in risk taking and decision making skills, as well as practicing trial and error techniques. Prensky argues that the media has brainwashed the nation into believing that games are responsible for crimes and immoral decisions. It is our duty as "Digital Immigrants" to keep an open mind about the technology that this generation of kids is dealing with. For some this may be an easy task for others it may mean becoming more aware of what games your child is playing. This book is geared more toward parents who would like to have something in common with their own children. Giving parents advice as to how to control what games your child plays as well as witnessing first had how the game helps your child's intelligence. Easy reading for parents on the go, and who knows your child may just pick it up too!

Pros:

Cons:
 * Great descriptions of games and what learning they offer
 * Ideas to get parents involved with their children, open the communication tunnel
 * Research on how other professionals use gaming to increase their own learning skills
 * Lacks advice for teachers that want to bring in the use of games in the classroom
 * Briefly introduces topics - not a lot of insight or research in certain areas
 * Loses momentum after midpoint in the book

"The Dumbest Generation-How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future- Or Don't Trust Anyone Under 30"  Author: Mark Bauerlein ISBN- 978-1585426393

It's unfortunate to see that this generation of kids lack the skills needed to successfully use available resources to benefit their literacy and knowledge. I am not sure who to point the finger at when it comes to this problem we face, but it is definitely a matter to take seriously. Mark Bauerlein puts it in perspective for his readers by giving much detail and research on how technology has not helped our youth. He attempts to show how dumb this generation really is. He points out that that the youth of today neglect learning anything pertaining to their community, politics or even history topics. The kids of today would rather spend their time communicating on social websites than using that time to read a book or catch up news or current events. Kids find the past boring and don't seem to find the time to sit and read. Technology has brought tons of information to the fingertips of millions of people which takes milliseconds to obtain. It is not the information we lack it is the knowledge of properly using technology to benefit our minds.

Pros-

Cons-
 * offers research on how technology has effected our youth's knowledge
 * puts some of the blame on adults for not encouraging literacy
 * Second half of book was much more interesting
 * looks down on people 'under the age of 30'
 * too many statistics towards the beginning of the book
 * harsh assumptions about the future of this generation