Running Head: Journal
Entry 1
Journal
Entry 1
Andrey
Murphy
January 18,
2014
Institutional
Affiliation: VCC
Objective:
What is the role of technology in
education? As the chalkboard of the olden
days is synonymous with the digital board of the present and the overhead
projectors are being replaced by the digital devices that are more than capable
of presenting multimedia to the whole class, this question is worth asking as
time goes on. Many educational
institutions are trying to adapt to the new technological changes such as
multimedia presentation, social networking and distant education. According to Factmonsters.com (Life-Changing Science Discoveries) majority of scientific
discoveries were made before technology took ahold of the education system and
these discoveries were accomplished using old school “absorb the information”
methods, what makes one think that technology will deliver the information with
better or at least the same results? As the parents of elementary and secondary
school students voice their disappointment over the degrading education system,
is it worth spending taxpayers’ dollars on seemingly useful gadgets which in
the end may not result in better education.
Reflective:
Fear of the unknown is a fear in
itself. With this in mind, I’ve launched
into this course and had my doubts regarding the whole technology thing dissipated
when I came upon this in the Teaching
Naked textbook in which the writer states that “with technology, we can do
more to ensure that all students can find a way into the material” (Bowen J.A.)
This short but precise line in our textbook
was an eye opener as to what technology has to offer in the class room. Up to this point, personally, I’ve been leery
of technological changes until I started fixing imported vehicles during my
free time. I have lost count of how many
times I had to go to YouTube to watch a video on how to perform certain
repairs, or post questions on bulletin boards. The vast expanse of information relating to
other aspects of my life such as home improvements, travel etc. predominantly
found on the web makes me wonder if the power of it could be incorporated in
the classroom as well. As I look back at the teaching I’ve done using
old VHS tapes which were outdated or even trying to use the white board to
explain complicated concepts of physics, I am very excited about exploring in
this class what technology has to offer and the methods of using it for the
benefit of everyone. Even though
technology offers a wide array of teaching tools, it also comes with a few
negative implications. How can the
information be verified? Is the
knowledge being shared reliable and trustworthy? Who makes the decision regarding what is
presented and what is omitted? Taking
into consideration the positive as well as the negative effects of technology
changes, it might be my responsibility to be a facilitator of the kind of
technology being used in the classroom setting, which in turn will cut into my
personal life.
Interpretive:
My understanding is that technology
could be used a lot more extensively in the classroom but my fear is that,
firstly, it will take a lot of my personal time since I would have to partially
or completely redesign the courses I might be teaching, and secondly, it may be
hard to find good and reliable information.
The likes of programs like Skype could be a very interesting venue to
explore since an educator from another city or country could lead instruction
from a remote location, making it more interesting to the students. All in all, technology does not have to cost a
lot and many are available free of charge.
There is a slight disadvantage, in which there is too much reliance on
the information on the web and lots of it is either not proven or completely
useless. I think that being a mediator
as far as what information the students will present in the class will be my
role. On the other hand, there are huge
benefits to introducing technology in the classroom. According to U.S. Department of Education (Overview of Technology and Education
Reform. n.d.) the benefits are:
-
increased motivation and self esteem
-
accomplishment of more technical tasks
-
more collaboration with peers
-
increased use of outside resources
One of the benefits of using
technology is that the lessons can be customized to meet different learning
styles. These benefits seem to align
with the thoughts of the author of the Teaching
Naked textbook and even if one of these benefits is achieved by using
technology, it’s a risk worth taking.
Decisional:
Once I’ve explored the benefits of
technology through this course, I would like to look into bringing it into the
classroom if the benefits outweigh the shortcomings. In my personal life, I use Skype to stay in
touch with my friends and relatives overseas and I believe it could be used
with the same success in the classroom. As
I am completely unacquainted with Social Media such as Facebook or Twitter, I
am looking forward to determining whether either one or both could be used as a
communication tool with my students and also being able to organize a group
study. Having online lessons for tradespeople
may seem like an impossible task at this time. I am hoping to somehow make it work using
technology, even though I am not completely sure at this time how it could be achieved,
but I hope this course will be of assistance. I had thought that technology will make my
life more complicated by cutting into my personal life, since the students
expect me to be available for them 24/7, but the feedback from the students confirms
otherwise as per a video on Youtube.com (Benefits
of using Facebook to connect with students and how to keep them engaged. 2013)
The following benefits of using
technology outlined in this video are: information
gets checked constantly, information flow is quick, students can be organized
in groups, material relating to class is posted online, easy communication to
all students as a group. As I start to
understand the trends, it makes me wonder whether being connected to the
learners may just readjust my work time around my personal time. Even though initially technology will take a
lot of my personal time and effort, I am willing to adopt it for the betterment
of the students.
References:
Bowen J.A. (2012). Teaching Naked. How Moving Technology
Out of Your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning. p.55
Life-Changing Science Discoveries.
Retrieved from http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0932440.html.
Fact Monster. 2000-20013 Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster. 19 Jan.
2014
Overview of Technology and
Education Reform. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/overview.html
Benefits of using
Facebook to connect with students and how to keep them engaged (2013). Retrieved from : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-faEhXD4kI
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