Well well well, for those that thought I was lying that my weekly blog post would be up within a day of my extra post, here I am!
This week we had an excellent presenter by the name of Kirsten Thompson in class (I will put a link to her blog on this, it has the PowerPoint slides there as well as other important links for you all), and a big part of her presentation was based on a blog post she wrote back in 2017 called "Why I Replaced Myself With a Machine" and then brought forward the question, what do we bring to our classrooms that cannot be replaced with a machine?
My instinctive answer was that I brought my stunning good looks to the class, no machine can do that, then I remembered... Bitmoji. Okay, that one is out, what about my expertise and knowledge in what we are covering? Right, Youtube could present the resources. So what do I bring to the classroom that cannot be replaced by a machine?
Surely this isn't that hard of a question, right? I decided to look at it from my current position at work to see what can be replaced by a machine, and boy was I in for a shock. Turns out, most things people come into their financial institution can be done by machines, deposits, withdrawals, bill payments, transferring money to yourself, even transferring money to others! None of these require the middleman of someone working the front lines at a financial institution. So what do I offer? Why do members still come in? Sure it could be because some of our members don't know how to use the technology and would prefer to not learn. But the truth is, there is no replacement for the personal aspect you get when you go into the branch and deal with somebody face to face. There are several members that come in and prefer to deal with me, why is that? Sure, sure, my stunning good looks play a part in it, but more than that I realized I have built up relationships with these members, we are able to make jokes, talk about what is going on, they trust me to find solutions to any questions they have. So maybe all my knowledge and my stunning good looks are replaceable, but creating environments, building relationships, and providing my personality to my members is what I can bring to my position that is not replaceable by a machine, and these are definitely traits that have and will continue to help me provide a unique experience and hopefully an experience that students will enjoy being in and enjoy learning in.
I hope all my classmates got to have the same positive experience I did with this presentation, and on the off chance this finds some readers outside of the class, what do you bring that cannot be replaced by a machine?
Link: https://fishbowlteaching.com/2021/01/why-i-replaced-myself-with-a-machine/
This was a fantastic read Mr. Boryskiewich! I enjoy your perspective on being able to be replaced by a machine. I think that your humour cannot be replaced. As for your question, I think it would be my ability to develop personable and genuine connections with students and staff. I look forward to reading more of your posts! Take care.
ReplyDeleteI love how you took the idea presented as a personal question and that you applied it to your current line of work. Throughout reading this blog I would agree that your personality and charm cannot be replaced by a machine. Also, how you touched on the importance of relationship building and how a machine cannot replace that was a great reminder for me. Thank you for your awesome and genuine post.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with you that it is the connections that cannot be replaced. It is those connections and the experiences we share in those positive environments that will be memorable. I wonder what remote learners will look back on in their later years? Excellent post. Your personality even shines in your writing, clearly!
ReplyDeleteAwesome stuff Lucas, you have a great style of blogging. Teachers can not be replaced by machines in my opinion. It would be no different than a textbook that talks, and courses that only use a textbook are the worst. Teachers who care and lead a discussion are what makes students invested in learning. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your review Lucas. I appreciate that you have used your writing form to emphasize the elements of your personality that are unique to you. You have touched on a key point, the importance of relationships, which you have seen the value of in your previous job experiences.
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