Blog Post 3: By Initia van Tonder
My Topic: Don't Be Scared to Experiment!
I have decided to create my own topic for discussion concerning an intersection between technology and education. Over the course of the semester, I have found myself completely intriqued, amazed, and often confused about many of the technology related assignments that we have conducted. However, I must admitt, that I feel 100 times more confident in my technological abilities now that I did 13 weeks ago. For me the key has been experimenting. I know that I have to get the assignment completed and so, even if it scares me, I have to find a way to do that. I believe that so many teachers, especially those of the older generations, are simply scared of technology. They don't know how to use it, and more importantly, they can't see the link between technology serving as an educational tool rather than a mere distraction. But I am here to vouch for the fact, through my personal experience, that technology can be used in education. Not only have I come to understand how to ensure that the technological element of the lesson serves as a contribution to the scholarly content, but I have also come to understand just how useful and technology can be in drawing in student participation and creativity. In order for teaachers to truly recognize the benifit of using technology in the classroom, I feel a course, much like the one we are taking right now, should be introduced in schools for teachers. The course is so benificial because we as the teachers get to experiment with the tools first. Once we understand how to apply the specific tool to its best potential, we can develop a lesson that will allow students to use the technology and creatively learn at the same time. Another essential element is communication. Things like the tech-tool discussions and blogging serve as great educational tools for teachers and provide them with the feedback that they may be looking for. So in conclusion, I think that in order for educators to truly understand the potential of technology in education for their students, they must know how to apply it themselves. Now, as someone who is working towards broadining her technological knowledge, I highly recomend a course like this to help educators move towards that goal.
6 comments:
I must say I saw some points that sure seem very valid within your post. I like the idea of giving a class to teachers that can catch them up on technology; however, I see two problems with that. They have an MEDT 2401 version now and my mom can still barely check her email. Secondly where are these busy teacher who truly care about their students going to find the time to get through all of the assignments. I am behind in our class and I am a college student.
Initia, you make some good points about some generations not being able to connect technology with learning. My experience has been that most of the older teachers view technology as a curse rather than the blessing it truly has become. When used properly, it can cut our preparation time (as teachers) in half. It also makes the learning experience more meaningful when the kids are "doing" something with the content knowledge.
As far as requiring teachers to take additional classes, you would be surprised at the amount of teachers who hate continuing education opportunities. It is unbelievable to me that we would choose a profession that requires us to be life-long learners, yet we complain about (free) training
I agree that this course has also increased my confidence as it relates to technology in the classroom. As teachers we can't be intimidated by technology, and this course has helped me to feel more comfortable using technology and using it correctly. Experimenting is also key and I think that you make a great point. We won't know how we can implement certain programs or ideas unless we experiment with them ourselves. This class has taught me how to increase communication between peers and in the future with my parents and students. And you are right, technology also provides another avenue for students to express their creativity. Students should be given multiple ways to express themselves and their creativity and technology gives them countless options.
I completely agree. I think that it is highly important for schools to make sure that teachers have the adequate training to best teach the students. This is increasingly imperative because we as teachers are constantly being pushed to be experienced with the newest and most efficient ways of teaching our students through technology. However, it will be highly difficult for teachers to find the time to complete classes such as these. Good in theory, but very difficult to put to practice for administrations.
Initia I enjoyed reading you blog it was very thoughtful. I agree with you this semester has been an experiment trying to implement new technologies into my lessons. It has been hard trying to learn how to use the different stuff, but like you said we can't be afraid to experiment.
This comment is actually in response to Busteacher's comment. It is not that educators complain about free training the are "complaining" over the lack of time they have. Being a teacher is so much more than just being at a school from 7:45 till 4:30 180 days a year. That is just the time that we are instructing the kids, and not always doing that. That does not take into account the fact that there are grades to post, papers to grade, faculty meetings to attend. Pretty soon your day is over. So before you say that they are griping about free training you might want to take into account all the things that a teacher has on their plate.
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