Education does not stop at school, it continues throughout your life. If one stops learning throughout life, they become left behind and are unable to keep up with new developments. If anything, looking at the current generation shows evidence of this idea. Take the example of technology with our parents. My mother has just gotten an iPhone 4, and instead of making her life more convenient, it is making her life (and mine) more complicated. What is simple and intuitive for this generation is not for the old because they are somewhat unwilling to delve into the technology because they have the older heuristics about technology. In order to continue to excel in one's field, one must strive to keep up with your field's newest innovations. F
or education, in addition to increasing our understanding of the achievement gap and how to better facilitate learning in students, teachers must learn how technological innovations can be used in the classroom before deciding whether or not to use them.If anything, educators should be even MORE on the cusp because our job is to grow students and facilitate their learning process. One must be able to relate to students in order to gain a common understanding and trust, and as younger generations are continuously investing more time and energy in technology, we should be teaching them how to utilize technology to their advantage. Sure there may be some factors about technology that could be a detriment to the learning process, there are also many functions of technology that provide for a better learning environment. This looks like the the use of technology in:
- pooling of students prior knowledge through the use of a Google Docs collaborative document or Wikispaces,
- applications to aide organization such as online index cards,
- the communal facilitation of summarizing and synthesizing that can be seen in utilizing twitter, blogposts, and facebook.
EDUC 504's goal is to explore the possibilities that exist for putting educational technologies in the service of teaching and students learning. In order for teachers to understand these tools, we explore how we utilize them and give us a hands-on community experience of learning how to use technology together. As mentioned in the previous post, this is my first blog since xanga in the early 2000's, and the existence of this blog is also a result of this class in order to summarize and synthesize our experiences in this program, especially regarding technology. I also have mixed feelings about getting a twitter (required for this class..)
What's wrong with Xanga? I still rock my Xanga!
ReplyDeleteI think our program is doing a good job at dismantling my paradigms on education (a good thing). I agree with you wholeheartedly regarding education and technology. Technology is supposed to make life easier, practical application to teaching not an exception!
I was wondering what you thought about technology and the classroom. Given that instruction can be handled through virtual sites, do you think there will come a time when the physical classroom is obsolete? How do you think we, as future teachers, could evolve into teachers of a completely virtual classroom?
Ha, I have never even heard of Xanga!
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued by your thoughts about Google Docs. I know Kristen mentioned this in class, and it is quite useful, as you have shown me through the sharing of notes. Some of these programs are really just a convenience, but if it facilitates the processes of learning, why not? The use of these tools is ever more present, and by incorporating these options into our curriculum, we are not only covering subject matter, but also preparing students for the way the world communicates not just socially, but in economic, political, and business settings as well.
Well put David. I think technology is a useful tool that will make our jobs as teachers MUCH easier. But I think it will also pose a challenge as well. Trying to get kids to voluntarily "unplug" will be very difficult I have a feeling, especially since all they do outside of school is talk on their cell phones, play on the computer, and watch tv. yes, that's right... that's all they do. haha!
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