My experience with technology in the classroom has been minimal. In fifth grade, I remember doing a project on the planets that involved some internet use. In middle school, I recall frustrating library sessions designed to teach us students to use EbscoHost for a research project. In high school, the old fashioned library was transformed into a “Media Center,” but the only thing the computers seemed to be used for was Myspace and using the school’s new email network to send jokes to friends. Thus, in my academic experience, technology was used, but the reason for doing so instead of using traditional methods was never clear. Students didn’t know why they were occasionally made to use technology, and I suspect that the teachers didn’t know either.
To me, the important thing about utilizing technology in the classroom is having a clear purpose for doing so. The state-of-the-art Media Center at my high school may have been created with good intentions, but without tech-savvy teachers and a different kind of curriculum to accompany it, it turned out to be an enormous waste of money. All too often, it seems that technology is integrated into the classroom as more of an attempt to make a point that the school is keeping up with the times than as an actual improvement in education.
Of course, some schools have managed to use technology in meaningful ways, as described in “Four Takes on Technology.” The first entry, about technology’s ability to improve students’ interaction with primary source documents, was nice but did not seem to be the best use for technology. The other three entries, about using the internet and digital software to learn about one’s culture and others’ cultures, however, did strike me as great applications of technology in education. Not only do projects such as Friends and Flags, the project on the Amistad, and GenYES teach students valuable technical skills, but they also serve important social purposes. Friends and Flags has the potential to improve tense relations between Jews and Arabs, if only among children. The project on Amistad has the potential to teach students things about the African American identity that they may not encounter in other classrooms. Finally, GenYES utilizes the technological know-how of students to teach teachers of older generations the information technology skills that they need in today’s education field.
In conclusion, I hope to use this class to get some ideas about how to use technology in a real, meaningful way as discussed in the video and article assigned for this week.
*UPDATE: It seems my high school, Chatham High School, did change the way it used technology since I graduated from there in 2006. And for the better, it seems... Frontline story about technology in CHS
*UPDATE: It seems my high school, Chatham High School, did change the way it used technology since I graduated from there in 2006. And for the better, it seems... Frontline story about technology in CHS
Carly, I like how you gave an example in your reading that most of us can relate to with the Media Center example. Your point is strong and falls under the point I was trying to get across. Which is all the technology won't mean much if it is not used and taught properly. Great job with this, it was a good read.
ReplyDeleteYour second paragraph hit the nail on the head. I agree that sometimes "technology is integrated into the classroom as more of an attempt to make a point that the school is keeping up with the times than as an actual improvement in education." I have had similar experiences throughout my educational career, where the teachers didn't even know how to effectively use the fancy new technology that was just purchased by the district. Sometimes we'd waste time watching them try to figure it out during class.
ReplyDeleteGreat reflection. You are correct - there needs to be a purpose - an understood purpose.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your assessment that a lot of the students’ interaction with media was defined by their teacher in high school. I remember when I was in high school, the amount of time that our class would spend in the ‘Media Center’ would be dependent upon how much the teacher had to show us to help us with the next assignment. I would interested in see to what degree this is changing as students are coming into school with a greater familiarity, comfort level, and intellectual knowledge of how technology works and can be used to their advantage in school.
ReplyDeleteI could really relate to your experience. I hope what we learn in this class will help us all to avoid some of the pitfalls you describe when incorporating technology into the classroom. There is some value in students just getting acquainted with technology, but without a purpose and value that is evident to the students I doubt many students have any different response than the one you describe. Personally, I have never enjoyed learning a new technology without first having a concrete idea of what I wanted to do with it.
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