Teach Naked--

Teach Naked:
Imagine a day without gadgets. No cellphones, laptops, ipods, or the likes. Does just the thought of it already make you feel incapacitated… unproductive, like nothing can be done? That’s how dependent to technology our generation has become , the Academe included. Schools invest a great deal into providing their students with the newest technology available—wifi connections, Bluetooth devices, LCD projectors . Yet not much study has been done to prove that these technologies actually facilitate learning. What if because technology can so much it actually makes both mentors and scholars passive learners? Will it actually be better to strip the classroom of these learning ‘tools’ – go back to basic when all that is needed to conduct classes are teachers, students and a place called classroom?
José Bowen, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University in Texas thinks so. He advocates his faculty to "teach naked," meaning without the aid of any machines. He argues that class time should be reserved for intellectual exchanges between the professor and students or between students themselves. It shouldn’t be wasted watching power point presentation all together.
Bowen proved the merits of stripping the classroom of technology by employing it on his own class. Bowen, who teaches music, delivers content via podcasts, which students must listen to on their own time. He then quizzes them on the material before every class to and uses class time for discussions, urging students to ask question and give opinions regarding the lessons. He claims that technique –letting the students use technology independently and outside the classroom and using class time strictly for discussions/applications—has done wonders to the performance of his class.
True enough, sometimes going back to basics should be the way to go.
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