As participants in the CSU Writing Project "Teaching with Technology Institute" we spent this week looking at ways to bring technology into the classroom. The obvious question then, is why? Why technology? What can we do with computers that we couldn't do with paper, pens, and a chalk board? What do we hope to accomplish with technology--it's not just a matter of getting students to use computers (most of them already do that on their own) so what is the point?
The point is to enhance learning. Some kids learn better with technology, some with pen and paper. With a balance, we'll help prepare the kids for the outside world and help them learn more efficiently and with more support
ReplyDeleteThe point is that we're teaching and learning in the "digital age." We don't have a choice, really, whether or not we're using technology in the classroom. So, because we ARE using technology, we are way more connected, we work collaboratively together, we hear more voices than we ever have before.
ReplyDeleteEffective writing is the point, whether with pen and pad or keyboards and lab. Age-old principles still apply in the 21st century. I see Aristotle sitting at a Macbook Pro!
ReplyDeleteTeaching technology is building a community online. Our students are looking for new avenues to interact with people, why not interact within the classroom as well. Expand their audience and be thoughtful about end products.
ReplyDeleteWith great power comes great responsibility. Thanks Uncle Ben. Sure they'll find the technology somehow but to what end. I think our job in large part is to teach ethics in technology.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the primary purpose of tech is to facilitate collaboration and connection. My main goal is for students to move the conversation "out of the classroom", to engage with students that may not be in the same room and to (hopefully) engage with the content/thoughts of class at times when class is not necessarily in session.
ReplyDeleteOne answer is this: 21st Century skills. We live in a totally different world now. Kids have to develop so many different skills--collaboration/teamwork, problem-solving, and TECHNOLOGY, among others. So, what better way to help kids develop these skills than in the classroom and with the latest, cutting-edge technologies out there?
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using technology to teach the basics. Making a five frame film can teach students about the importance of transitions, emotions, and revision. Then you can have the students move into writing the story to their film, while keeping those terms in mind.
ReplyDeleteScout said "we work collaboratively together." Web 2.0 is about collaboration. Technology enhances collaboration and allows us to collaborate better. Let writing remain active and not passive. I hear the echo of Phaedrus that, "Students are more engaged with technology and more empowered to guide their own learning." After all, the answers are inside ourselves, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteI think technology is going to progress whether we "buy in" to it or not. If we don't educate them using technology, we are doing them disservice. They will definitely be using technology in their future work place to contribute to the community as a whole. We can't let our students to struggle playing catch up like previous generations are now trying to do.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to agree with what Jo-Jo said. Ethics is still important, and maybe even more important in a time when people have so much unmonitored access to anything they want to get their hands on. We need to teach as best we can and trust them to make good decisions
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mariposa, and I would add that although most (not all, though by a long shot) students are learning how to use technology they are using for very specific purposes (pirating music, social networking sites, etc) and not for sound academic reasons. Teachers still play a huge role in teaching how to analyze and synthesize information, how to write effectively online, how to research digitally, avoid plagiarism, etc.
ReplyDeleteCurrent various technological tools enable us to do things in the classroom that weren't possible 20 years ago. For instance, when teachers want students to write out a visualization to poems, the teacher sometimes gets a vague response. But, when using all forms of texts to communicate a message (writing, photos, videos, etc.), the message is all that much clearer.
ReplyDeleteMariposa, I agree with you that we'll be doing our students a disservice if we don't integrate it into our classrooms. It's an equity issue too. We don't want our students to graduate from high school a step behind their peers.
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