Response for Class on 2/28

Technology: Tool or Stumbling Block?
Since beginning college, I have encountered professors who are very averse to the use of technology in the classroom. It is their belief that they grew up without computers, so they don't like us to use our computers in their classrooms. I think this fixed thinking is absurd in this day and age. We have come into a technology-explosive century where everything is automated or digitized. Everywhere you look, there is evidence of the footprint technology has left on the world. As teachers, it is critical to understand that technology is not our enemy. I will admit that I did grow up in the midst of the wave of technology, but my access was much more limited than that of the students I work with. Younger and younger they are getting tablets, iPads, and phones. In his article, Couros provides ways to include technology in the classroom as a support and tool for teaching. He discusses how important it is that teachers model appropriate use of technology for students and to show them the wide array of uses it can have. He mentions using an academic blog, such as the one we are using in this class, to openly dialogue various topics as well as to demonstrate the pedagogical side of technology. I personally love the idea of blogging with students. It is a low-stakes environment where the students can connect with each other's thoughts an opinions, as well as make arguments and think about various perspectives on different issues. We don't need to rely entirely on technology in our teaching, but at the same time, it isn't something to shy away from. Let's use it in a way that betters the education of our students.

[Personal]ized Learning
There seems to be a spectrum. At one end, no technology is good for the classroom; at the other, technology takes over and replaces the teacher. We have to find a balance. Coiro centers her article around this balance. She brings up the term "blended learning," which is not a term I was familiar with. Blended learning incorporates technology into a classroom that values student involvement in their learning. Digital playlists do not provide any opportunities for students to personally interact with teachers or peers, instead limiting them to interaction with a computer. I can see the appeal of having learning that is more specific to the student, but taking away the social aspect of education is not the way to do it. Teachers spend much of their time differentiating lesson plans and creating instruction that caters to the individual needs of students. Their way includes time for students to share their thoughts and think in ways that are challenging. If all students are doing is pressing buttons on computers, they are not able to see that learning is human. We are born learning. We continue to learn, even after school ends. The world teaches us new things everyday. Students should not assume that learning can only come from technology.


The Difference Between a Teacher and a Business Person
You would think the difference would be obvious, right? It really grinds my gears that there are so many individuals who have little to no experience in the field of education who are constantly making the decisions concerning education. The ideas present in Robert and Mahoney's article were startling - I had no idea that corporations could even enter the education sphere. Business people are looking at schools and seeing another opportunity to boost the economy. Their plan to simplify and personalize learning is devaluing teachers and creating students who are only capable of following instructions. The whole idea of the banking method is at play here. Learning is a fixed entity: knowledge is specified to the individual, it is pumped into the student, and they take it as fact. There is no opportunity for a dialogue or any sort of creative thinking. Students aren't able to wrestle with difficult issues that may not have an answer. Learning is put into a box. I shook my head at the idea that teachers are reduced to facilitators or data collectors. My mother is a middle school English teacher, so I get to see all of the hard work that goes into her planning and preparing for lessons. She takes time to plan different methods of presenting information for the various learners in her classroom. There is so much heart that goes into teaching, so much that we invest in our students, and to have that reduced to a proctor is crazy. I want my classroom to be a place where students can use technology as a tool to enhance their learning, not depend on it to tell them what they should think. Learning is not just about acquiring information but applying it to your experience.

I am studying to be a teacher. I want to teach. I don't want to facilitate. I don't see a classroom as an economic opportunity. I see it as a training ground for the next generation of thinkers. We have to teach our children to think for themselves, not do all the thinking for them.