Classroom Technology

The rise of technology has been pervasive in every part of life including the classroom. If the negatives that can come attached with the technology can be harnessed, the benefits of the technology are boundless.  Looking at the Dialogue comments from the Technology segment, the negative comments about technology centered mostly around the distractions that it can bring.  The positives mentioned were the obvious such as doing things faster and having more information more quickly. Students in classrooms today have not known life without technology. Students in high school today were born around the same time IMac computers, Google and EBay came to the world.  To ignore the prevalence of technology by not incorporating it into the classroom is to not only overlook a tremendous teaching opportunity; it is also a snub to an important cultural aspect of today’s students.

 

I have had an opportunity to see the effects of various types of technology in my placement this semester that I have not seen before. Because of the physical set up of the classroom, my cooperating teacher chose to design the space in an unconventional way. The students are seated in groups of 4-6 at laboratory benches and each bench is situated with a computer monitor. The teacher then teaches the class using an IPad with a screen that shows up on each monitor. I have seen advantages and disadvantages with this setup. Each student is able to see the monitor at all times and this helps with taking notes and keeping up with the pace of the class. The major downfall I have seen is that the students are always focused on the monitor and never on the teacher. I see this is being a huge disconnect and see it as detrimental towards building meaningful relationships with the students.

 

I think technology can be a great asset within a classroom when it is used to supplement teaching and enhance instruction, not replace quality education. In my own experience I have seen technology take over a classroom. With a degree in chemical engineering from a premier university, I have had professors who had the greatest toys and the latest gadgets. Their technology arsenals rivaled major companies. But when it came down to teaching they were lacking in skill, experience and desire. There is a famous quote that says, “Some people want to be lawyers, but they don’t want to practice law.” I think the same goes for teaching. Often people want to be teachers, but they don’t want to practice teaching. For these people, often technology helps fill the gap where desire should be.