I’m sitting in a conference session as I write this realizing, I can’t take it anymore. Presentations that don’t engage are no longer tolerable. I believe technology is an amplifier. The fact that I have a laptop in my hands certainly easily distracts me. When I look at others in the room, I see some focused but others looking at program information, newspapers or just appear to be tuned out. Some are actively engaged. Teachers have long been accused of being lousy listeners. Part of the issue is the topic. Using Technology in the Cree Classroom. Mostly stuff about using PowerPoint or FileMaker Pro. Yes, for some this is interesting stuff. But will the learning stick? Is this just informational?
I’m not usually interested in informational sessions at conference since I can find it online just as well. I”m looking for stories, developed or new ideas, tough questions, challenges. Maybe others aren’t. Maybe some are just at a different place.
I remember a while back, Steve D. talking about having presenters post their material ahead of time and spend the sessions dealing with the challenging stuff.
I’ve been accused of being a multi-tasker and one who has trouble sitting for a long time….I disagree. I can switch back and forth between tasks quickly. I can sit for hours when engaged. I’ve just chosen to choose what I will engage my mind with rather than endure time in unengaging activity. (low battery warning…must hurry)
So my dilemma is this:
- Am I just lazy?
- Do I need to be more disciplined and focus better?
- I make judgments quickly about the value of the learning activity. Is that bad?
- What makes us think kids would be any different?
- Am I the only one with this problem?
- Do we really believe that engagement is more important than content? (Prensky)
[tags]conferense, AWASIS,engagement[/tags]
Entries (RSS)
April 26th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
All of the above!
April 26th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Nothing wrong with you, and you have company.
My yardstick when captured in this prison cells is to ask, “Is this content I could have gotten in other media forms instead of listening to someone talk about it?” — like could I glean as much from reading it, or watching it online.
Unless a presenter adds something to the mix, makes it something more than just content I could absorb by other means, well… I am heads down on the laptop.
April 26th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
“Part of the issue is the topic. Using Technology in the Cree Classroom.”
That’s a BIG part of the problem. When will we learn that it’s so not about the technology? How about “Cree Students - Making Connections across Canada (or North America)”? Or… “Cree Students - Digitizing Our Stories”? Anything with context would be more engaging.
April 26th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Read this. You are not alone.
April 26th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
It’s like you were reading my mind when you posted this. As a sometime conference presenter, I have to be careful not to fall into these traps. Your post will help me remember that!
April 26th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
It’s not just you … I’m the same way. If I’m not learning something new or having my thinking challenged in some way I get bored … fast.
For all that, I don’t agree with Prensky “that engagement is more important than content”. Content is king! It sounds to me like part of the problem in the session you were in was the content. Some of Diane’s suggestions for the content would have been more engaging. I think engagement flows from strong content delivered in an interactive setting. i.e. Prensky’s got it backwards.
Cheers!
April 30th, 2007 at 7:39 am
Love the last few lines of your post. I’m going to quote them in my next presentation.
April 30th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
No, it’s not just you. I behave the same; for example, if a presenter does not engage me from the beginning my mind takes off on the other things I need to get done after the presentation is over. However, if there is a group discussion or some form of classroom activity after the presentation, I would listen to the content to ensure that I could participate afterwards. The motivation is what I need to do with the content, if all that’s required is just for me to listen, then the presenter has just lost me because I like to multitask and would find other things for my mind to do during the presentation. I like stories, personal experiences, new discoveries and ideas. A presenter, who challenges me to think of creative ways to do something I already know, would definitely gain my attention. There is a price to this, sometimes I come across spacey, but in fact, I am thinking about a great idea for a business or a book or something.
May 1st, 2007 at 6:17 pm
“Am I just lazy? ”
From the energy in your presentation, it’s obvious you’re no more lazy than the children who refuse to pay attention to classes that don’t interest them. It’s just like Ian was saying, if the material presented doesn’t engage, and apply to something that both interests the learner, and relats to something they already know, the information is quickly forgotten. We have too many information inputs to retain the details of topics we aren’t a part of creating and directing (which I’m thinking is why political participation is so very low among young people).
May 9th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Congratulations on taking ownership for your own learning. Once you do that, you can’t go back. It is like leaving Plato’s cave, you can’t live in the shadows any longer. In the Read/Write web we are masters of our own (and other’s) domain!
[As a Jerry Seinfeld fan, that doesn't sound right- forgive me.]
We choose the topic/the page. We choose the path/the hyperlink. We choose to interact when, and where we wish… We engage and we learn.
If a presenter doesn’t challenge us like we challenge ourselves… well we just won’t sit idly by in the shadows. We can’t.
December 31st, 2007 at 12:09 pm
[...] Is it just me….this post from April signaled the beginning of many similar posts and thoughts and is helping my structure learning experiences to move away from this model [...]