Technology Reflection

“… we are in the midst of a process of rethinking the meaning and ends of education…” – (Burbules and Callister, 200, pg. 17)

How Technology Courses Have Changed My Educational Outlook

My view of the meaning behind technologies for the classroom has broadened in two distinct instances thanks to my participation in educational technology classes.

First, I purchased a netbook a couple of weeks into my first semester. I was never a fan of carrying around a laptop, but I suddenly found myself in dire need of one to fulfill my school needs. Almost all of my reading is located online, and all of my writing is to be typed and submitted through Sonoma State’s Moodle site, so in order to not be stuck at home on my desktop or forced to save to a USB memory stick at the library, I had to get my own mobile computer. Mark Beatham (2008-2009) would have been proud, because before deciding to buy the netbook I was conscious of what I needed to accomplish in the class first. I thought of the task before the tool.

Second, I know more about the digital educational tools I can use once I am in a classroom thanks to the collaborative projects presented in EDCT 552. I learned about everything from participatory online classrooms (via Edmodo and 3D GameLab) to integrative video for use amongst students I may have with 504s (Flip Cameras). I learned not only about how these tools are used, but about the dynamic ways they change learning in the classroom. Now I feel I can have a voice in a staff meeting when a question is posed about money being spent toward technology. I have the knowledge to contribute meaningfully to this conversation.

Why Media Literacy is Important in Schools,

and How I Hope to Implement it

Every day I spend learning about media literacy I feel that education is in need of a reform in regards to technology. Burbules and Callister (2000) put it simply that technology is not a panacea or a cure all for a classroom in need of support. Educators need to inform themselves and others (administrators, parents, students) that new technologies should not be purchased because they are the latest fad, but should be utilized because a teacher understands that their core content can be enhanced through a digital medium. It is only when all of us understand this that technology will start to become more than a tool; it will become an invaluable resource.

Why is it necessary for such a wide audience to understand the use of media in the classroom if the teacher is the one implementing it? The classroom is more than just the teacher. To put all the pressure of the teacher to understand and devise ways to use technology is to limit literacy. An administrator should know how technology can be used so a budget can be devised in an innovative and deliberate manner that benefits the content of the course. A parent should be aware of what a student is using in the classroom to better support him or her at home and foster good communication. Students need to have a greater knowledge about the technology they are using beyond the basic formats and functions so they can critically analyze the implications of technology use in the world at large. When each of these integral groups of individuals appreciates what technology is being used for, not just what it is producing, than education will thrive in the digital age.

I hope in my own English teaching career I can inform all of these groups about technology and foster the sense of community that is necessary offline and online. The internet is innately social, and in an  English classroom I want to utilize the community it can create. Keen (2007) speaks about the fear he has of the amateurs on the internet creating new content and squelching out the experts. Rather than see the amateurs as a plague on internet society, I want to expand upon that passion that individuals have in creating new “text” and support the growth of knowledge that each student can have by viewing and producing their own videos, audio, and written work. The novices are not to be feared, but are to be embraced. No one is an expert from birth, it must be learned. The internet can be a supportive community in which to gain knowledge and learn from comments that people can make about each creation. It can be an additional cache of wisdom that student can exercise beyond the classroom. I believe that by advocating for student creation and offering support for new modes of creation, I will be helping students to use the internet outside of the classroom for more than just leisure. I will be encouraging educational exploration and critical analysis of every post they make to a forum and every video they upload.

Resources

Cartoons from Andertoons and the blog Full of Bees

Beatham, Mark D. (2008-2009) Tools of Inquiry: Separating the Tool and Task to Promote True Learning (pp. 61-70) Sunny College at Plattsburgh

Burbules, N. C., & Callister, T. A. (2000). Watch IT: The Risks and Promises of Information Technologies for Education (pp.1-17). Boulder, CO: Westview Press

Keen, A. (2007). The cult of the amateur: how today's internet is killing our culture. New York: Doubleday/Currency.