I'm still wading through all the articles that make up Britannica.com's "Brave New Classroom" Forum on the use of technology in education (not to mention all the posts in the discussion), and it's really making my brain buzz. Is technology friend or foe, a boon or a boondoggle in the classroom? When I resigned my teaching position to stay home with my first baby, none of these issues even existed. Now I sub K-12 and get to implement other peoples' lesson plans, but do not yet have to create my own. What will I do if and when the classroom is truly "mine"? Will I be willing to "share" it with my students, to give up control, to truly create the "community of scholars" ideal? Will I be competent enough in technology to integrate it into my classroom?
Two things I'm certain of: that there are very effective teachers out there who use very little technology in their classroom, and that the reverse is also true. My son's 8th grade Science teacher (now, sadly, retired) used nothing but a blackboard... the kind with chalk... and is repeatedly described as "the best teacher I ever had" by countless high school graduates. At the other end of the spectrum, we've all suffered through "death by power point" at some point in our lives... sitting through a glitzy, but painfully boring presentation up on a screen. The key, I think, is engagement: we need to engage our students in the learning process. No amount of technology can do that for us... we have to genuinely care about them, figure out how to convey our concern in a way that our youth can believe and understand, make the material relevant and challenging, and set high standards and expectations. Those factors, at least, I can be sure of. In our rapidly changing world, some factors of "being a great teacher" will never change.
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Martha, I agree with your comment about 'being a great teacher'. I have worked training teachers to integrate technology for 24 years and can tell stories about great teachers.
ReplyDeleteThis one might resonate with you:
I worked with a HS English teacher named Jeff Golub from Seattle. By all regards (and awards), Jeff was an exemplary teacher.
But I handed Jeff a gift.. in 1989 I helped him join a group of teachers using online modems to help students communicate together. One teacher and her class was from Berlin Germany.
Jeff was not sure he wanted to change any of his so-succesful practices, so in the fall he used this capability AFTER school in a debate club as an "experiment".
Well.. this was 1989, Fall. Remember: Berlin Wall came down.
His kids went "nuts" interacting with the kids from Berlin.
The spring semester, 1990, Jeff moved this capability into his main-line classrooms and changed his program to allow for this provision of a new audience for his students. His good skills enabled him to see the benefits and the outcomes provided by the means (the technology).
Within two years he moved from that setting to train other teachers to better use technology to enhance English teaching practices.
This was 5 YEARS before the web came along.
The message I send to you is this: Even great teachers can change practices without losing anything, while gaining much for themselves and their students.
I will be posting a lengthy article about change and new environments soon, that would help you understand and design your future classoom environment. It will probably appear at this URL later this year:
http://www.guide2digitallearning.com/
Good luck !
I agree whole-heartedly with your comment about engaging students. All the technology in the world won't make a poor teacher great - they will just be a poor teacher who uses technology. But I do agree with Dan that even great teachers can become even better though embracing appropriate technology use. Besides, the truly great teacher does not know that they are great, they simply strive to improve with each day that they have and each opportunity to impact a student.
ReplyDeleteI think the challenge for really great teachers who do not use technology is change. Change is hard. Great teachers are already working to make great leassons better. Adding technology means even more work. However, the lifelong learners may take on that challenge and improve an already fantastic classroom experience for all involved.
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