I wish that when I was in high school my teachers would have had a stronger background in Educational Technology. The most exposure I got to to technology in high school was when I was required to take a beginner's Computer Literacy class in order to graduate. The little experience I had working with technology when I was in high school has been enough to convince me that incorporating it into our classrooms can most definitely be beneficial.
I love the idea that students can have so much freedom when working on a multimedia project to present to the class. I've worked in classrooms where students were asked to make a multimedia project on a particular topic, and the students got so excited about the ability to spend time on the computers in the lab, have some creative expression, and discover much more than a textbook could ever teach them. I liked the example in the Barron article about the students who were researching Martin Luther King online and could see images, hear his speeches, and read the text all at the same. The ability to incorporate so many of the senses while learning can really help a student learn more, achieve more, and be more motivated to put in the time and effort because they know they are putting out a fantastic product instead of being stuck writing a five-page paper.
If multiple studies have proven that students can achieve more on our lovely standardized tests, then that should be reason enough to be incorporating technology (sensibly of course) into our classrooms. After all, we spend so much time as future teachers learning how to "teach to the test" and still be creative in our classrooms, technology allows for us to do that.
Of course, there are limits. We've talked a lot as a class about sensory overload and having too much technology in our classes. We must beware that we are doing our PowerPoints right so that students benefit the most from them, and we must teach our students how to do one so that it will be most beneficial for their classmates. If we plan carefully and are prepared, our students could learn a great deal from spending time with technology.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm right there with you on the technology thing Kate. The most I learned in my Comp Lit class was how to use html, and some photoshop applications. Everything else so far I've had to teach myself.
ReplyDeleteIn most cases we are much better with technology than our parents, and they are better than their parents. In many cases, the students will be as proficient (or more proficient) with technology as we are. Keeping up with the technological ideas that work in the classroom can greatly help enhance the learning of students. A teacher who uses technology that the students are familiar with, and uses it effectively, can create a more diverse, exciting learning environment.
ReplyDelete