Part 2:
Answer the following question:
Why is it important for all teachers to integrate technology into the
lessons they teach, regardless the age of the students? Discuss what may be barriers to technology
integration and how you as the teacher can overcome them. Using what you have learned throughout the
course, please provide examples and information to support your answer. Within this blog entry, please discuss some
web2.0 tools that would assist with technology integration.
There are many good
reasons to integrate technology into any classroom, regardless of content,
students' age, or their proficiency. First of all, technology allows to
accommodate learners of different styles and multiple intelligences, levels,
and needs (e.g. creating podcasts for students to review newly-acquired material outside of class, giving them a choice of what program to use (from verysophisticated to more simplified ones, for example) to present their
research findings, having them choose whether to read, watch, or listen to the
same information, etc. ) Second of all, it enhances student learning and makes
content more vivid, comprehensible, and meaningful to them (e.g. geometric
simulations, virtual field trips , videotutorials, etc.) Moreover, technology allows to develop
those skills that our students' potential employers are most likely to look
for. I agree with A Principle's Reflection that
technology promotes independent-learning, creativity, problem-solving, critical
thinking, technological proficiency, global awareness, media literacy,
communication, and collaboration, all of which are so critical for professional
success of our current students in the future.
Nevertheless, technology
should be used thoughtfully and in moderation.Sharing Technology for the Classroom contains one idea which
seems to me fallacious. "A middle school principal in Maine... proclaims
that the debate over handwriting is finally over- all assignments must be
keyboarded. You can mourn the passing of handwriting if you must; the kids
certainly won't. If they are writing better and more detailed papers, yes,
there has been progress." My students often state that writing by hand allows
them to improve their spelling and memorize new words better, be good at
proofreading, and some even claim that handwriting boosts creativity. Those who
are good at touch typing, like me, might prefer typing over handwriting because
they can type as fast as they think. Nevertheless, advantages of handwriting overweight its disadvantages. Thus, for example, Virginia Berninger, a professor of
educational psychology at the University of Washington, conducted a research
that demonstrated the importance of handwriting: elementary and middle school
students who participated in the study and who wrote essays by hand, produced
longer, more creative, and in general more qualitative essays. "Handwriting aids memory. If you write
yourself a list or a note — then lose it — you're much more likely to remember
what you wrote than if you just tried to memorize it," said occupational
therapist Katya Feder, an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa School
of Rehabilitation. There are other pros of staying faithful to handwriting but
which in the interest of this review and space I will leave out. In brief,
there are reasons why handwriting should not be completely replaced by typing.
Along with the harmful
tendency to overuse typing, there is the sense of isolation that overreliance
on technology may create. Thus, for example, this course allowed very little
face-to-face communication among the students and I personally know only 3-4
people by name. Virtual communication has its benefits but in no way should it
replace regular face-to-face interactions.
That being said,
integrating technology in the classroom meets numerous obstacles in its way.
First of all, school districts, adult education bureaus or other educational
organizations often lack sufficient financial resources to afford required
modern technology. In addition, due to certain administrative procedures, it
might take a long time from the moment a teacher requests, say a laptop for
each student, to the moment when every student gets it (Shaping Technology for the Classroom discusses this problem in
detail). Last but not least, teachers
and sometimes students might not be that technologically savvy and might
experience some sort of anxiety towards using technology. But what can we, educators, do to overcome these barriers? We should stay persistent and unite
in becoming "the agents of change". And
the 12 Most Genius Questions in the World can help us to make better decisions
and demonstrate more effective teaching.
