APPLICATION 4: Reflective Essay
My Reflection
On
Exploring New Technologies
Rochelle Henely
May 2006
#6661T2005
These past few weeks we have been asked to explore the impact of
technology throughout the past and the future that technology has in our
classrooms (Walden, 2005). Some would like to believe that the integration of
technology into education is the end of the school system as we know it. This
is not necessarily a bad thing (Felder, R. and Brent, R., nd). Historically,
disruptive technologies have dramatically changed the way things were done.
Take these words from An Overview of Civilization:
The words progress and change are often used interchangeably, but they are not alike. All progress represents change, but not all change is progress. A poor man may become rich; through misfortune, he may become poor again. His circumstances have changed twice, but he has seen no progress. Real progress is the result of technology, a move forward that is not reversed. No army fights a war with bows and arrows when gunpowder, rifles, and artillery are available. Students no longer use slide rules with pocket calculators so inexpensive and easy to obtain. (World history from the ancient Neolithic to the present 1995-2006).
The technological changes that we as educators are in the midst of are monumental in comparison to anything that has impacted society in the past. It is an exciting time to be involved
in education and teaching.
In week one, we were asked to discuss disruptive technologies and the changes that they have had on society. In the many of these discussions and postings, two major items were thought to be the most disruptive by the class, the internet and email (Laverty, F. & Marks, M., 2006). Both have had a major impact on my life as a teacher. With its birth in the 1980’s, email itself is not all that new of a technology (Thornburg, D., 1998). What makes email such an influential disruptive technology is its use worldwide, its ease of use, and especially the expectation that everyone has an email address (Vicomsoft, 2006). I personally do not remember a time when I communicated without the use of email. One of the differences between the teacher workplace and the common workplace is the interaction between peers (Zemelman,S., Daniels, H., and Hyde, A., 1994). Teachers do not get the time to communicate with peers in the school day. Email has helped this aspect of teacher isolation to some extent. I am in contact with my peers throughout the year working on curriculum, grading, and student paperwork via the internet. This does not mean that communication should not involve phone, face-to-face, or paper documentation. These are all valuable forms of communication and cannot be replaced by email. Communication is one of the major types of involvement as stated by Epstein (1995). Using many different sources to reach out to students, parents and other educators is of value in any successful program.
I am not of Generation.com, but as a teacher of this generation I must be aware that technology and its use is expected in the classroom of today’s youth (Thornburg, D., 1998). The speed with which technology is changing is more rapid than the pace that the school system runs. Thornburg states that the classroom of today would be easily identified by an educator from the 19th century (Thornburg, D., 1998). This is a sad state of affairs for the schools. The students in today’s classroom expect technology to be part of their education. Most students learn best with concrete experiences (Crawford, M., 2001). Students must be taught tools that are relevant to them and their future. Education must be more context oriented to motivate and educate our children. To fulfill the needs of today’s learners, teachers must not only expose the learner’s to knowledge but also give the learning relevance to the student’s knowledge.
One of the biggest lessons that I have learned in this past few weeks is the frustration that educators have with the use of technology. From the school systems not spending enough on training (Laureate Education, Inc., 2004) to some schools having limited technology resources (Malkus, K., 2006), educators are dealing with the constraints in integrating technology into the classrooms. Although I have five computers in my own classroom, the readings by Kathy Schrock (2000) were very informative. As stated in my application this week, I will definitely be incorporating some of the tips mentioned in her articles. If teachers had advice more readily available similar to the simple suggestions in the articles, I believe that, the integration of technology would be much smoother and teacher frustration much less. As far as correcting the limited training that many educators receive on new technology (Laureate Education, Inc., 2004), there are no quick fixes. It would seem that many teachers find answers for themselves. The interaction just in this course alone has opened the doors to technologies that the teachers did not know were available. Melinda Marks interviewed her technology supervisor and now feels better about her own technology position (Marks, M., 2006). School funding does not always allow for proper training. It is not really a question as to whether schools can afford training in technology; it is whether they can afford not to! 1995 – 2006
References
Crawford, M., (2001) Teaching Contextually: Research,Rationale, and Techniques for Improving Student Motivationand Achievement in Mathematics and Science Retrieved May 15,2006 from http://www.cord.org/contextual-teaching/
Felder, R. & Brent, R., nd, Is technology a friend or foe of learning?, Tomorrow’s Professor, Retrieved May 2, 2006 from http://ctl.stanford.edu/Tomprof/postings/394.html
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2004). Program Six, "Constraints of the
Classroom". [Educational Video]. Los Angeles: Author
Thornburg, D. (1998). Brainstorms and lightning bolts:Thinking skills for the 21st century. San Carlos: Starsong Publications
Walden University. (2005). M.S. in Education. Integrating, technology in
the classroom specialization, Course Descriptions. Retrieved April 9, 2006 from http://www.waldenu.edu/c/Schools/Schools_6927.htm
World history from the ancient Neolithic to the present. (1995-2006). An overview of
civilization. A Collection Of World History Related Essays, Documents, Maps and
Music From World History. Retrieved May 28, 2006 from
http://history-world.org/civilization.htm
Zemelman,S., Daniels, H., and Hyde, A., (1994).Teachers as learners: What helps teachers grow? Retrieved May 28, 2006 from http://www.ncrel.org/mands/docs/9-12.htm