There are three ideas that I am interested in from this book: using technology to better teach a subject, how technology brings new media and resources to the students that they may not otherwise see, and the fact that using any technology will take some amount of preparation. I have used technology to better teach my subject. When I think of why I use specific technology, I realize that I either pick a teaching technology tool because of past experiences and how it helped the students grasp knowledge or I chose not to use a technology because of a major class flop and the tool was more of a distraction than a help. Also, technology provides many instances where I can quickly show an otherwise intensive demonstration. For example, in my explanation of simple circuits, SMART boards can quickly demonstrate an introduction to that unit whereas without technology, it is much more difficult to illustrate what I want them to see. There have been times when I have been able to introduce some technology that my students may not otherwise see. In my Power and Transportation class, students can find and research state of the art energy technologies that they wouldn’t be able to find in a book. Using technology can be very time consuming. Often, it takes a lot of time to create a webquest. It is labor and time intensive when finding websites to use as links for information and making sure it is real to the students. However, this is a valuable experience that was well worth the preparation time to see the students learning and making connections.
Two new ways that I would like to integrate technology into my classroom are to use web quests to research career paths and to research new methods and technologies for alternative energy production. I am continually teaching my students a new technology, but my goal is to not have them learn that technology but for them to realize that they should use these tools to find the best information in an efficient manner.
My biggest concern with integrating technology is that I do not want my students or me to have to learn a technology that takes a lot of time without much gain in return. Much of our technologies are a great facilitator to students’ learning, but I don’t want a computer experience to take the place of real life application based experience.
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Michael,
ReplyDeleteI get the sense that you embrace technology in the classroom, but do not want it to take over the classroom (based on a few of your comments throughout the review, and your main concern at the end). If this is so, great...because I agree with this. Technology in the classroom can create amazing experiences, but I feel it is important not to over-do it so that it replaces good ol' fashioned hands-on, face-to-face instruction.
Dave
Michael, so very true about the decisions you have to make as the teacher on whether to use or not to use technology. When it truly enhances learning we use it-- if it is too time consuming, we don't if there is another route! I feel the same way, at this point, about using Second Life for educational purposes. It takes me way to long to get something done--so I don't go there often. Yet, in a few years, it will become easier and the great educational value will be attainable!
ReplyDeleteGood job on your reflection !
Joan