Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Blue group
I think my experiences in the classroom have really made my beliefs about technology in the classroom what they are today. I also feel that my experiences with technology in every day life are not consistent with what is appropriate use of technology in the classroom. I feel that technology in the classroom needs to be regulated, and also not relied on too heavily. Students should not think that their only reference tool is the internet. I also feel that technology should only be used for educational purposes ie: reference, educational games, etc... However, I do not use technology in this way in my leisure. I mostly use technology for communication, games, and other sources of entertainment. I do use technology for educational purposes frequently, but the bulk of my technological usage hinders toward the entertainment side. I would say my view own technological use is similar from my technological biography in that I only referenced entertainment purposes in my autobiography. I didn't mention any educational references to my own use of technology. In my other post, I said how technology had benefited my own learning in the classroom. When technology can be used to help understand a concept, it should definitely be integrated. My technological biography and my classroom post were completely different in these two regards. On one, I only wrote only about my experiences in the classroom, and on the other, how I use technology as entertainment. I do also believe that techonlogy in the classroom should have some sort of fun aspect to it, but should not be its main purpose.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
After reading this, I became more aware of the differences between technology used for entertainment and technology used for education. However, at the end when you said that technology used in the classroom should have a fun aspect to it, I thought of how teachers could integrate educational technology into the classroom in a way that would motivate students to learn. Since many of us, along with many students today, use technology primarily for entertainment, some of it is seen as "fun." For example, students who get to perform some task in school using their iPods, e-mail, instant messenger, or video games will see that as a "fun" activity and will be motivated to use those tools. So if we as teachers can figure out a way to combine educational activities with technologies that students use for entertainment, we could gain high levels of motivation. An idea for this could be interactive computer games (similar to video games) that bring students through scenarios that are topics in history, science, or literature. Another possible way to do this could be having students e-mail you an assignment. This allows the teacher to relate to the students by using a form of technology that they enjoy using. Even though they are still handing in an assignment, they may be more motivated to do it. I think that any technology used in the classroom is appropriate as long as it relates to the curriculum, teaches the students something, and all the students have equal opportunities to use it.
ReplyDelete-Chrissy
I agree completely that the technology in classrooms needs to be regulated. Some students may only use technology instead of using other resources that are available, and that's not always good. Give students other resources to use or schedule library time so technology isn't the only resource used.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Chrissy's comment. After reading your blog post, it does make you realize how much we used technology for entertainment purposes. We are used to using technology for entertainment and educational, so no wonder we rely on it to much.
-Kera V.
I agree with you the majority of my technology use outside of the classroom is for entertainment. However, I know that if I need to use it for something other then that I can rely on my home technology to be there ready to go for educational purposes.
ReplyDelete