What is your philosophy of Technology Use in the Classroom?
"I'm not a teacher, only a fellow traveler of whom you asked the way. I pointed ahead, ahead of myself, as well as you."
--George Bernard Shaw
Greetings,
What is your philosophy of Technology use in the classroom?? Before our first class think about your philosophy, reply to this post summarizing your philosophy in a few sentences. If you have time read a few of your classmates responses and reply if you choose to.
Can't wait to read your responses
Natalie
9 comments:
I think that technology is an underused tool in most of our classrooms. Educators understand the importance of developing technology skills but the integration of those tools into the classroom is not seamless.
I would like to see more integration of tech. into the curriculum. I think using technology could be a time saver for teachers rather than creating an additional burden.
I believe that our students are entitled to a world class education, regardless of the area they live in. Teaching at a Title One school very challenging but should not deter educators from seeking as much training and professional development as possible. As a new teacher I have received minimal amounts of technical training, and see the need to acquire more. I would like for my students to be able to make meaningful connections with technology and standard based curricular requirements.
My philosophy of using technology in the classroom is that it needs to be user friendly and quick to implement. Technology should be something that can help simplify life and make completing tasks easier. For a teacher, this could be a dream come true; it could make it possible for me to be a better teacher and my students more successful learners. I currently do not use a lot of computer technology in my kindergarten classroom, however I would like to integrate it more.
I think that technology is a skill that is as necessary to our children as the other skills that are being taught in the classroom. Technology use has become a part of our student's everyday lives and therefore we are doing them a disservice by not incorporating technology use into our classrooms as an integral part of our student's education.
It’s funny, but I took a technology in education class in college. It’s funny because in that class I wrote a paper called Philosophy of Technology in Education. I think that it was crammed full of high hopes about my future use of technology in the classroom and how important it is, how effective it is, what a great motivational tool it is, and I think I remember backing it up somewhere, but I just can’t seem to find it. I wrote it on my old computer, which was once a high powered and expensive machine that I used to do graphic design with. That computer devalued tremendously and I traded it for an old bicycle which worked just fine. I thought that I put my Philosophy of Technology in Education onto my fancy new laptop, the one that was a necessity during graduate school. Maybe I did, but the hard drive on it died and it’s in the shop being repaired. I was pretty sure that prior to that I made a backup copy, but a search for it in the tall, dusty rolls of disks on my desk proved useless. It’s funny because after being clobbered so heavily by my own technology, I would need to revise at least some of my high hopes, my idealism, my naïve enthusiasm. Still, some constants from the lost philosophy hold true. I believe technology in the classroom is critical.
“I believe that all education proceeds by the participation of the individual in the social consciousness,” John Dewey said. That is why technology is no less important than the whole lot of other curricula. Technologies are the ox that can pull the wagon. Technology is a medium for participating in the social consciousness that was vital to Dewey. Like a pencil or a chalkboard, technologies are not the curricula, simply the means. Technology, like any medium, has the power to separate the haves and the have-nots. Technology, for our sidelined population can be an equalizer if students are allowed to express themselves with it, if they are given the right to become proficient in it. Without it, our students will not be part of Dewey’s social consciousness.
Technology is dividing and will continue to divide people more than morals and ethics ever will.
I believe that too often educators neglect technologies in everyday life because there is a certain fear that they are somehow corrupt. Cell phones aren’t allowed, internet has been hidden, and contact time limited. I was drinking coffee the other day at Kaladi Brothers’, writing out my lesson plans long hand with my favorite pen, when I was reminded of something profound. Several kids sitting next to me were playing computer games, all right, maybe they weren’t still kids, but the point remains. The games they were playing were connected together through the Internet. They were blasting people on the other side of the room or the other side of the world from within the realm of this artificial thing. They were involved in a complex social network. I can’t pooh-pooh every bit of that. Regardless of the blasting, I try to model social interactions daily. I too may be in danger of excluding technology as a societal fault rather than a benefit. Those who can not or will not access new technologies will be left behind.
In this class, sponsored by the globally huge Intel Corporation, I’m reluctantly yanked into communicating through similar means. I’m reluctantly sniffing around new mediums for communication. Although I’ve been given a great new hi-lighter with a page marker dispenser as an opening gift, the objective is to learn new technologies and to integrate those new technologies into my classroom. I’m feeling that I need that challenge. I’m feeling that for this philosophy, the big picture for me is that technology is a tool. It’s a tool that will divide people. It’s a tool that can allow my students to be a part of a better life. Despite the chunkiness, the jarring, often frustrating experiences I’ve had with it, technology in the classroom is a critical tool. Despite the fear it might cause, it is critical.
I believe the use of technology within classrooms will continue to grow. I believe it is up to the individual teacher to keep up with the advances in technology, just as they keep up with current trends in reading or math. It is up to the district and government to adequately fund and train educators in using technology. Literacy with computers will become as relevant as all other subjects by the time our students are adults. I have a responsibility to train and prepare my students for this. Unfortunately, we are not given the time to prepare or implement this instruction.
When teachers use technology correctly, it can motivate and educate students. However, I do not feel that I have the training or time (we do have some good tools) to use technology efficiently and effectively in my classroom. I have seen how programs like Follow the Leader can help support our curriculum, but I have also felt the frustration of trying to utilize technology. The world is changing, and I can not let my short-comings impact my students.
When my mom and my dad first started teaching almost 40 years ago, technology included carbon copies, manuel typewriters, and chalk. Calculations were done by using a slide ruler (calculators were nonexistent), grades were done by hand (I can’t imagine!), and showing a movie involved “high tech” film strip machines that had to be hand fed. Times have surely changed, yet we still rely on many of the traditional methods of teaching. The kids of today have access to vast resources including the internet, spreadsheets, Power Point, word processing, and many more, however, many of these are not being used with integrity (at least, not in my classroom). I hope to give my students the abilities to succeed in today’s information age through the use of technology along with the strong reading, writing, and math skills. I believe technology should meet the needs of all students and help provide them with an education that will be meaningful in the 21st century.
Looking forward to using the tools for the lesson plan and implimenting this with students. Very helpful that this is a hands on learning more than rote memorization.
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