Okay, so I am not sure I have anywhere on my portfolio that screams "I am a technology guru/lover/it needs to be implemented into everybody's lives" but I am a technology guru/lover/it needs to be implanted into everybody's lives! There I said it. And I say it for numerous amounts of reasons. You will actually be able to check out these reasons in my next blog post where I announce why I am 100% YAY for technology. However, the issue I am going to be talking about today is why technology has a bad rap and how can educators create a space where learning is demonstrated and encouraged through the use of technology. Being an educator, and currently taking education courses there are many discussions around "too much screen time," "the kids get enough technology usage in their daily lives," or "I don't see the benefit, I don't know how to work these things so I am not using it." These are all what I like to refer to is a lack of understanding creative ways to implement technology into the classroom. One of the most common misconceptions that focuses on integrating tech into learning spaces is that now students are being exposed to too much screen time. Chris Bergman, a writer for NYTimes and chief executive for ChoreMonster wrote an article challenging this phenomenon that kids are receiving too much screen time. Throughout the article, Bergman speaks to his own experiences and how he was affected by controlled screen time. He is now an advocate for allowing kids to have their own autonomy over their screen time. He states, "Technology is not going away or becoming less popular. We should let our teenagers build on MineCraft, mess around in Photoshop, and make music in GarageBand. Eliminating screen time is a thing of the past, and if we want to stay technically savvy through our 60s, our kids will be the ones to teach us all the new tricks." I couldn't agree more with Bergman in that technology. is. not. going. away. In fact, for my EDTC 300 class last semester I created a video that focused on how video games in the classroom have a positive affect on student learning. You can check out my rationale here! I wanted to bring up this argument to fight against something I learned in class this past week. Carl Straumsheim wrote an article for Inside Higher Ed called Leave It In the Bag. Straumsheim argues that using technology in the classroom actually hinders student learning. According to Straumsheim, the study presented in the article suggests there are many reason why using computers will result in poor grades. However, in my opinion, the use of technology is all about context. I am going to repeat it again for the people in the back, how we use technology is all about the context in which you use it. In other words, how the teacher has decided to incorporate specific technology is the key determinate of the learning taking place. For example, in edtc400 one of the main components for this class is to create a Twitter page and the expectations is to be as active as you can on it every day. However, the expectations that were given to us by our instructor enables us to learn from using twitter. This has been successful because of the WAY our instructor integrated technology into our lives. Not simply by telling us we are going to be using twitter, and scroll for hours on end in hopes you find something. From the student perspective, I understand that by using twitter I am staying connected to current events and building a digital identity for myself. I understand how my learning is relevant to my life, and my career. Another example I like to refer back to is my high school math. There were so many moments where I questioned why I was learning something. Constantly nagging the teacher, "why are we learning this?" "How is this relevant?" Or, "when will I ever use this." The reason I shared this experience is to show the learning capacity that may or may not have taken place, regardless of the technology integration that was used. George Couros speaks to this, "technology will not replace great teachers but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational." It is not about what we are teaching, but how we choose to teach. https://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/tag/educational-technology And if you know me and have read previous blog posts of mine, I love to end on a quote! So, with that being said I will leave you with the amazing words of George Couros.
I would love to hear your opinion on the way you view technology in the classroom. Thanks for reading! -Miss. S
1 Comment
1/29/2019 11:48:56 am
I agree Ashlee, that technology is all about context especially when it comes to incorporating it successfully in a classroom setting. If a teacher has no idea what their intention is when using he technology they have already lost the battle and students arent learning as much as they could be if they teacher had clear intentions when they set out to use the tech. Having tech for the sake of having it though is not a good idea, teachers need to have a clear purpose when they bring tech in.
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