When I was in high school, we learned to type on typewriters with correction tape, we watched movies from an A/V cart that had a TV and VCR on it. Besides the telephone, the most current way to contact others was by paging them. My video games consisted of an Atari that played PacMan and QBert and arcade games like Centepede and Galactica(?). Technology was just starting to become a regular part of our personal lives, and just barely was being integrated into our educational lives. As technology has developed and evolved into something we use every day, we have had to adjust our normal way of doing things and learn how to do things in a whole different way. We are digital immigrants who still have an attachment to the old ways of doing things, and who struggle to keep up with all of the new technology and its applications to our worlds.
My kids, who range in age from 18 to 2, access technology on a regular basis, multiple times per day. Whether it's my 2 year-old playing games on sprout.com, or my 18 year-old downloading new music to his IPod before the radio has even started playing it, technology is a major part of their lives. They are digital natives, because technology has always been prominent in their lives on a regular basis, and has changed how they do things and how they think.
So how do we, as future educators, integrate this abundantly available technology into our classrooms, being mindful of how much a part of thinking it is for our students? The key IS being mindful of where our students are coming from and how much more experience they have with this technology. Why not put the key in their hands and give them the opportunity to show us how to use technology to teach a concept. It is okay to admit that we need help in this area, and it would promote confidence and innovation in our students. We provide the available tools and the learning objectives and let them guide us to the best way to use technology to make the lesson come to life.
I like your writing style; it's very easy to read and digest. I think your point of putting technology into the hands of students to let them teach a concept is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteYou have posed an important question--how do we integrate technology into our classrooms? You're right that we need to provide opportunities and to understand our students and allow them to guide us.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think even in my classroom, I tend to say "let me show you" and I do it for them. It's important for the students to do it themselves so that they're able to learn.
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