We had a teacher work day at my school today. After reading the two articles last night I was discussing this class with a few co-workers and telling them I would be responsible for creating a webpage, blog, podcast, and something called wikis and RSS feeds. Many of them claimed how happy they were to have gone through college before so much “technology” was invented/used and wished me luck with all that “mumbo jumbo.” I personally enjoy learning about new websites or techno-gadgets that make my life easier or make learning more fun.
When I think about integrating technology into the classroom, I imagine using my SMARTBoard to visit an interactive website, watching a video clip, going to the computer lab to do a WebQuest, doing research for a project in the lab, or updating my personal class website with homework. After reading the Reigeluth and Joseph article I guess I was wrong. They write that “educators must recognize that using technology to support what they are already doing is not a productive course of action when compared to using technology to transform their teaching to a paradigm that is attainment-based rather than time-based.” Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for customizing a student’s learning rather than standardizing it but when I have 32 students in one room mixed with inclusion students and many labeled gifted and talented, all with a variety of learning styles it’s out of the question. I hate to admit it but I teach the state standards and struggle reaching those higher level learners with enrichment opportunities. I try to make my student’s learning relevant and have them take ownership in their learning as much as possible because I know the end result will be a positive one.
My students are responsible for analyzing their test results and we use these results to see who may need extra time and help and for which standard. My students are given choices when completing a project as to how they will show what they know through a paper, model, song, etc. I also allow them to sometimes choose what their project will be on but customizing their learning on an individual basis would be extremely cumbersome. The writers of both articles also discuss how difficult this transformation is and will be. I think it would be very interesting if the writers of both articles could be put in a room with a group of teachers to discuss their beliefs.
When I started Neil Postman’s article I thought he was crazy. I cannot believe he truly thinks that “schools are not now and in fact have never been largely about getting information to children.” I agree that we do constantly teach children how to “behave” in groups throughout their schooling, which is an important social skill but I believe teachers are in this profession to instill the love of learning in their students. I feel his main point is that we are bombarding everyone with information in a variety of ways and it’s what we are doing or not doing with the information that is the issue. As I read I recalled the commercials for bing.com where it shows people on search overload, spitting out tons of useless information. It is our job as educators to relay information to our students that is state directed and relevant to them using books, technology, and a variety of other resources. As educators we need to make sure we are using technology appropriately to customize and enrich our students learning. We are trying to prepare these young minds for the future and like it or not technology is going to be a big part of that future.
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