As we talked about technology in class on Friday, I tried to recall my first encounter with technology in school. And, I remember that technology was a something of a treat. I distinctly remember shuffling down the hall to the computer lab in fourth grade, where once a week we were allowed to play "The Oregon Trail." Now, maybe this wasn't the most educational experience I could have initially had with technology, but I remember being excited because I got to use a computer. I can't help but still wonder if technology should elicit this kind of excitement--shouldn't students see technology not simply as a means to achieve a result but as something that can help them explore their own learning?
When we consider this idea of technology as being exciting, it is important to consider what makes a student's work feel important. Is this something we as educators can do by using laptops and iPads in classrooms? Should students be required to publish material online? Here, we get at this idea that students should be held accountable for their work. By posting an essay or interpretation online, perhaps a student will feel more accountable for their work because it is being recorded in a technology medium. And, in an ideal world, all students would love publishing their work online for others to see. But, what about the students who are not as comfortable working in a technology medium? What if they prefer pen and paper? As educators, it seems wrong for us to ask students who are not comfortable having their work displayed to publish something on a website. If using technology does not excite a student, then how do we bridge this gap? Do we find a new way to use technology or do we lessen its presence in our classrooms?
Yet we are teaching within a technology-ingrained society. When students have iPhones, iPads, laptops, and Smartphones, how do we help them to see technology as exciting for learning? In an age where an everyday phrase is, "I'll just Google it," how do we make these devices into not just an everyday tool but one that is also essential to learning? I hope to learn how to de-Facebook and de-Twitter technology so that students see technology as something that is not only useful for self-expression in their personal lives, but is perhaps a more powerful tool when combined with their education. I want students to see technology as exciting--it isn't just something for their own pleasure, but is truly a useful tool that can carry them far in their educational careers.
So, what was your first experience with technology in school?
I have not thought about technology in this way before. I remember the first time I was excited about technology. It was when I got my first laptop. It was old, used, and slow but I couldn't wait to play spider solitaire every chance I got. One of the ways that I can think of in an effort to make students excited again about technology is to do more projects or assignments with interactive online programs. I have worked with several of these programs in college and although frustrating then, I would have loved to have worked with these in high school. I have also had a little experience with a networking site called edmodo. It is a site similar to Facebook but for students, teachers, and parents to interact. Sites like this can help to get them involved in the classroom since it is very close to the sites they already use. In an effort to make things exciting I think that we have to find actives and interactive programs that are either similar or fascinating for the students to use.
ReplyDeleteI remember playing Oregon Trail in school too- I loved it! I think it's a great point that we, as teachers, have an opportunity to get kids excited about technology. Like we talked about in class, digital media can have a really strong sensory impact, and I think that's one way we can use technology in an exciting way- through visually-striking images, video, and software programs. I'm excited to learn more about the technological tools that we might be able to incorporate in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI think you're asking great questions! Your point about privacy and shyness is also really important, especially in the context of the bullying discussions we had in ed 606. How can we make the "technology medium", as you so insightfully put it, a safe space unlike the evil possibilities offered by other technological media like facebook and myspace
ReplyDeleteKatie, your thoughtful comments remind me that the most resonant audience for our students is probably their peers in the classroom. In that sense, the online space is simply a different way, with a different pace and aesthetic, for students to interact with one another and with their peers. Just as an FYI, there are lots of ways to use technology to extend classroom conversations, but to have the "public" be limited to just your students. We can steer you to many such possibilities, and perhaps you'll want to imagine using one of these technologies as the core of your winter "teaching with technology remix" assignment.
ReplyDeleteI also like the way that you're challenging yourself to think both about how to imbue student work with a meaningful feeling of importance and how to create and then utilize a sense of excitement around school-connected work. Part of the answer, I believe, lies in thinking about and "unpacking" your own experiences as a student, and your passions about ideas. Thinking this through is a challenge, to be sure, but it should be an enjoyable one.
I can definitely remember begin excited about the exact same thing in elementary school. Whether we knew it or not, we were actually practicing valuable skills during Oregon Trail sessions with our classmates. We were working on fine motor skills such as typing, pointing and clicking. Now that the world of technology is far more advanced we, as teachers, can use it in many ways to work on much more complex skills that our students will definitely need.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this increase in posting assignments will hold students accountable for their work, as well as up the standards for that work because students know that it will be viewed.
Technology that is not used as a social networking device??! OMG!!!
I believe that it is very possible for us to redirect students' views of technology from a simple means of uploading pics and updating statuses. If we use it in a fun way that is interactive in the classroom, we can create an education-specific view of technology that is positive.
Considering what makes students feel important is an obscenely good point to make. By and large, I think a lot of tenured teachers lose their empathy for a students self-worth as the years go by, robbing us of opportunities to better work with them and raise them on a pedestal equal to ours in our classrooms. When they feel like they're equals, motivation increases incrementally, and we now have an environment conducive to higher-order thinking and learning.
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