The topic is technology in the classroom. Developing a philosophy on the issue is a bit like developing a philosophy on human beings using tools. Without new inventions of the past we would not have books. We would not have maps or calculators. We would not have schools at all, certainly not in the format to which we are accustomed. These things are all tools for learning. But people have gone to war for books: The Bible, the Koran, Mein Kampf. Maps lie, calculators cheat, and schools oppress. My point is: tools reflect the efforts of the bearers. It's how you use them that counts.
When it comes to technology in the classroom, this means putting education first. I had the great fortune to have a SmartBoard activity crash and fail for a 6th grade class. I had carefully prepared an interactive memory game for my students, only to find it would not project at the last minute. Rather than attempt to salvage the computer, I salvaged the lesson, having students help me tape up replacement 3x5 notecards on the whiteboard instead, create a low-budget, low-tech version of the game. The cards were crooked and bent, the tape failed and they tumbled to the ground every so often... but there was more joy and laughter and engagement in the failure than there would have been in the robotic precision of the successful computer program.
Shakespeare will still be Shakespeare in a theatre or on film, and both experiences have unique irreplaceable qualities... but it is neither the stage nor the screen that makes his messages universally human or his poetry moving and amusing. I see technology as simply a new stage. The process of learning and of teaching is an old play; The players change, and the directions were never clear to begin with. The stage can enhance the experience or harm it, but it is not what defines the performance. That feat falls to the delivery and the content.
I truly enjoyed reading your philosophy and the analogies you used. I think you make a great point when you say technology is another stage or tool with which to teach. Great teachers are great teachers no matter what tools they have before them. We need to keep this in mind if we are placed in a school with limited or no resources available. A great teacher can make their lesson a memorable and exciting experience, regardless of the tools they present it with.
ReplyDeleteI would certainly agree with your philosophy on technology. Nicely put! It struck me when you wrote, "Developing a philosophy on the issue is a bit like developing a philosophy on human beings using tools." That is so true! Technology is just another human invention. it is up to us to decide how we use it. Some types of technology are a bit more sophisticated than other and could certainly change the world for better or worse depending on how we choose to use them, but the bottom line is that we decide how to use technology. Using it as a productive tool in the classroom is certainly my goal as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteI really like this post. Whether we are technology enthusiasts or technology skeptics, I hope we all agree that it ultimately comes down to how we use the technology that will determine whether it was beneficial or not in the classroom. Technology can do a lot of things, some are good and some are bad, but it is still people that control how they use technology so instead of simply judging the technology as good or bad, we should be judging how well people use it.
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