But I'm worry. I'm worry that with helps from the technology, no one will want to write with pencil on a paper (thanks to emails and text messages), no one will remember phone numbers, and people will become like ET: big head, fat body, short leg (because did not use it as often), long finger with fat fingertip (result of tapping on smartphone, tablet, computer and other devices) , or become like the humans in the cartoon <Wall-E>.
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| Human, Wall-E |
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| ET Copy Right: Infinite Hollywood |
I really worry that one day we might lose technology and we will not be able to go back to the old way as we lost all the life skills (maybe I'm thinking too much). Well, I wish that day will not arrive.
As educator in the 21st century, we cannot avoid technology, and I think we should include technology and start to build a community with it instead of banned them in school (a lot of the schools still banned the use of smartphone and computer in classroom, at least the last two schools that I went to still are until today.) Jeff Utecht, an international educator and educational technology consultant, made a very good point about this in his TED talk ('Community trumps content') in my school three years ago, he said that a lot of our students (almost all) born in the era that is full of technology, they will not understand what were we doing with our computers when internet was not invented.
I think it is more challenging for many teachers to get comfortable with technology compare to our students. Many teachers are 'cross-era' teachers, from the old-school style era cross into the high technology era. It is very important for teachers to get familiar with the technology tools, get to comfortable using them, like the article <Exploring the use of iPad for literacy learning> mentioned, teachers should be familiar with the tools before using it in the lesson. Also it is the schools and administrators responsibility to make sure teachers get enough professional development on information and communication technology (ICT) before implementing any technology integration policy into curriculum.
One common message from all the articles is, teachers should have a clear goal, lesson objectives and outcomes, then choose suitable tools to assist them to deliver the lesson more efficiently. Also choose suitable technology tools to assist students to learn effectively.
I love technology, but I will try not to rely too much on it.
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ReplyDeleteHi Ker,
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. I too worry about a world that is becoming (or actually has already become) reliant on technology. It is an intimidating feeling know that all of our personal information, banking, medical, past history, etc. is somewhere out there on the internet.
Students today are growing up in a world where it's common to have technology influence every part of their lives. Do they even teach kids how to write with a pen and paper any more? Kids these days can type text messages faster than I can type on a computer...is this good or bad?
When is too much technology enough?
On a brighter note, technology can, and is, extremely beneficial in certain circumstances. It does make our lives easier to a degree, but it also allows us the power of information at our fingertips, and this is what we need to harness for our students.
We need to find those moments in teaching when this technology can greatly enhance a learning experience, allow for a student to make a deeper connection, or to dive deeper into a topic of interest. Technology has the power for students to create things we didn't know were possible, and to learn in new and exciting ways.
Our job as educators is to discover, as Hutchison, Beschorner and Schmidt-Crawford point out in "Exploring the use of the iPad...", how to implement "curricular integration," or the synergy of technology and curriculum in our classrooms.
Like you stated, technology in the classroom needs to focus on the the learning goals at hand, and make sure it enhances these goals and student learning.
Thanks for the great post! Love the ET photo!
Eddie
Hey Ker - thanks for the post and the pics. It really drives home the point you were trying to make. The point that stood out to me was that children in school today are born with the technology that many cross-era teachers wrestle with. They do not question the virtues of handwriting or the lost art of spelling. They just be in the tech that surrounds them. We to have had that experience with television and electricity and in door plumbing. So, I don't worry as much other than the fact that we need to be more conscience of how we treat our bodies but even their the technology is helping us to be more fit ( I personally use a fitbit to track my steps and my food and as a result I am more conscience of my eating and exercise habits).
ReplyDelete