Technology Course Assessment

           In this course Technology in Education, I learned about Jing, Scrapblog, Google Docs, wordle, polleverywhere.com, and webquest. I also learned how powerful of a medium the internet could be in affecting social change through Michael Steinman’s efforts with his own students. I will take away something from all of these technologies, but the technology I have most benefited from is Google Docs. I am not a tech savvy person, so I had no idea of the benefits Google had to offer. Learning how to create my own sites, professional and webquest is eye-opening for me. I will definitely utilize the webquest idea with my own students. I believe it is a great way to build upon their digital native foundation. I categorically love the forms we were taught to make in Google. They took all of the hard work out of it, and it is a tool I will absolutely use for my students, as well as the parents of my students. It provides a way for me to reach the parents and for them to response anonymously, or discreetly to where their children won’t have to carry around the papers and lose them or never turn them in if they don’t like what it says. This could apply to the first form I created using this technology, which is really for the parent’s eyes only.

            Before this course, I really underestimated the role of technology in education. I did know that students were what I now know to be called “digital natives”, but I had not really made the connection of the importance of reaching them in a language they were most comfortable with, technology. I want to reach my students where they are, and prepare them for the future, and I now believe that technology is a critical part of the equation.

Three Lessons From Michael Steinman

           The first topic Mr. Steinman brought from his students that resonated with me is, recognize that, “some students work at different paces”. Even within a honors class, students will process the information differently. But there are only so many honors classes, and the intake curve will be much greater in most classrooms. Nevertheless, I feel it is imperative to consider this when I am teaching my class. I want all of my students to succeed, so going too fast for most but appeasing the upper minority will not cut it. I plan on slowing things down to an average pace, giving the accelerated students something extra to do until we move on, and giving the more challenged students extra time during lunch to go over any materials.

            Next, Mr. Steinman’s students said, “Teachers must be passionate!” I 100% agree with this because most students have not learned what it is to be passionate about life in general, let alone about education. I remember being that age; you think time is on your side, that you’re invincible, and that you’ll eventually find what it is you want to do with your life. But most teens do not realize that this time of their life is not the time to be idle, but the time to explore and actively seek out their life’s passion. A teacher should always demonstrate this passion, because passion is contagious. The passion that I show my students for what I do, can cause them to wonder about what in their life they could be passionate about.

            Finally, his students said, “don’t set low expectations”. I personally agree that students will rise or fall to whatever level you expect them to achieve. I know that many minority students are not expected to do well, either because of their race or their social environment. I feel like this is such an injustice to the student. Society already places low expectations on certain members of society, but then to go to the place that is supposed to prepare you for life and they mimic what greater society tells you. It is the ultimate travesty. A person’s race or economic make up is not a handicap; it can be a source of power and inspiration.   

Online Collaboration

This past week’s synchronous online class was the first I had ever experienced, and I really enjoyed it. Although, I did realize that after about one hour of being on it, I was ready to be done with it. It could just be my tolerance level for technology. I can’t sit in front of a computer for hours on end without getting antsy. I liked being able to collaborate on a single document while communicating with each other and being comfortable in my own space at the same time. The challenging part was that I did not know what to expect while we were meeting. I suspect though, that if I were to use this technology for a particular project, I would know why I was meeting with the group and what was expected out of me.

I can see this type of technology being used to supplement face to face teaching in the distant future. The cost of educating a child in the classroom is astronomical. The money that could be saved using this type of platform could be well worth it. Although I don’t think this could completely replace the physical environment of an actual classroom, it can absolutely be a tool that could benefit the entire education system. I think students that do not usually participate in the classroom would feel much more comfortable contributing information. Without the eyes of everyone watching, a student could feel free to ask questions and/or express themselves. I think that the school districts should consider having an online collaboration day every week. But, there are many obstacles to consider with this. Does the savings generated from not having the students in class offset the costs of the technology needed to have these online collaboration days? Can the tangled web of the public education system handle any new program, or will it break from the added pressure? 

Digital Native or Digital Immigrant

In researching the topic, Am I a digital native or digital immigrant? I came across an article written in 2001by Marc Prensky titled, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. In this article he talks about how those of us who navigate the digital world with traditional tendencies, like “calling someone to see if they received our email,” or “calling someone into another room to view something on the internet instead of sending them the URL,” would be considered a digital immigrant. Prensky considers someone who lives, breathes and eats the digital world since infancy a digital native.

            I would have to say that I am a digital immigrant for sure. I realize that I am behind the curve in most technologies, and I have a lot to learn technology wise if I am going to meet my future students at least in the middle. Prensky goes on to say in his article, which was written over 10 years ago, that professors are creating interactive games to teach various subjects like the Spanish Inquisition. Prensky suggests that the brains of the digital natives may be wired differently. I think we do our students a disservice if we force them to fall back to our old traditions. Should they know how to spell, or look up a word in a handheld dictionary? Absolutely, why can’t we teach them the fundamentals, but also foster what they already know to help them grow academically and technologically. One of my main reasons for becoming a teacher is to reach those students who feel like they don’t have a place in this world. I believe technology could be that olive branch to get them to open up and see themselves in a world in which they could explore.