when i first came to college, i did not know a single soul and felt very intimidated by this large campus. however, i am a pretty personable, definitely loud individual!, so i had faith in my ability to make friends. i noticed right away, though, that this was not going to be an easy enterprise. i couldn't socialize during class, and the moment the period ended, everyone plugged headphones into their ears or began talking or texting on their cellphones. i was disgusted by this lack of communication between my peers.
Educ 504 is a bit of a challenge for me not because i am extra behind in the technological world, although i'm surely not up to par, but because i don't know where i stand on bringing certain technologies into the classroom. the more i read about this subject, the more i realize that as teachers we must present knowledge and information in an engaging and creative way. in today's society, this means incorporating resources such as blogs, text messages, powerpoints presentations, etc. into a curriculum. i understand that many students do not have access to these technologies at home so school is an important place to keep them up to date on the constantly changing electronic world. however, i am worried that we have all begun living in a world of fantasy. kids spend so much time staring at psp's, frantically pressing buttons that have no effect on their physical movements, and talking to pixels that don't talk back. i think many of the new gadgets that so many people are taken with are superfluous and detrimental to the formation of social skills and personal interaction.
I am in no way saying i'm opposed to technology - i am very grateful for it when doing school work and keeping in touch with friends and family. i am also not saying that these electronic resources shouldn't be available and used in the classroom. all i know right now is that i think it will be a sad day when we can no longer find comfort and contentment with each other.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Well that's nice of them! Definitely let me know when you're in Ypsi...I can only have so much fun hanging out with my dog...
I also think that technology is a great thing, but I'm worried that it will be overused. Of course, the definition of overuse will continue to change as much as the technology does. How much is too much? After spending all day in MAC on the laptop and then going home and doing homework on it and then finishing homework and using it to keep in touch with my friends, I'm pretty sure I am overusing it. At least I feel like I am. It's very refreshing to just turn it off and leave it to the side for a while.
I think you bring up an interesting point...is it fantasy? Will students find "the real world" too different from their lives of video games, Avatars, and text messages? I don't have an answer. I do know that communicating and collaborating in the 21st Century workforce is already changing and will probably look different than it does today. Here is an interesting video that might be thought-provoking for you on A Vision of K-12 Students Today and how they like to learn
Bridget, I think that alloting an entire class of your MAC experience to "teaching and technology" is of value, first and foremost, because it gives you a little more space than you might otherwise have to explore and consider questions of the kind that you raise. At this point, I'd say that some ambivalence and uncertainty about questions related to technology integration is a healthy sign. To me, it means that you're thinking seriously about the kind of teacher you want to be, what your classroom environment will be like, and what kinds of relationships you're hoping to cultivate with your students. It would also appear that you're grappling with some questions about what you want to model as a teacher (how we connect with others? how we connect powerfully with ideas?) Sometimes we need to be able to react against something in order to clarify what's important for us.
Keep wrestling with all of this, Bridget.
I AGREE! I'm not really sure what else to say because you said it so well, haha. I guess thats the point of 504 though, to show us whats out there and how to use it in a good way. That'll be interesting to see how you can incorporate it for English... I know for econ we could look up stock quotes and stuff, even though thats what I did back in high school, I'm sure theres a million other things to do now. But I know what you were saying about technology going too far... I've seen elementary school kids on cell phones that are fancier than mine!!
Just wanted to tell you that I agree, and that sometimes I am also really worried about the lack of interaction that happens between people because of technology.
Hi Bridget.
Even though I teach in a "technical" program, I continue to hold similar concerns about the effects newer technologies have on human interaction.
Rarely does the rush to teach the *use* of a technology take the time to consider the *values* implicit in that device. If a laptop screen has the unintended effect of creating a physical barrier between discussion participants, isn't that just as important as the immediate access to information it allows?
Still, the "how do you use technology" question has been a part of every job interview I've had. Here's how I want to answer it...
"As an English teacher, I view my whole class as a technological course. I teach the most powerful technology ever devised by humans: written communication."
Post a Comment