Reflecting on the Use of Technology

Although one may have used technology throughout their entire life, implementing its use in the classroom may be a challenge. The technological tools for classrooms have been available for the past few years; however, ways in which to use them in the educational system has only just been made clear throughout the past two months as I have participated in the “Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society”. Rather than using technology as a way to “do things differently” (Laureate, 2007) in the classroom, I plan to start using it to “do different things” (Laureate, 2007) and help students develop the twenty-first century skills they need as digital natives.

In order to teach the necessary skills to students, the “teachers need to think of themselves more as coaches who model the skills that the students need to be successful and motivate them to strive for excellence” (Richardson, 2009, p. 137). The learners can find information in seconds with the use of the Internet search engines; therefore, teachers need to allow students to discover the answers through inquiry based projects and activities. Rather than being teacher directed, classrooms must become more student-centered with a focus on collaboration not just inside, but also outside the classroom walls as well.

In order to create this type of classroom I have come up with two specific goals in order to center my focus over the next two years. My first goal is to continue expanding my knowledge of technology by participating in my third year of a technology grant within my school district and taking more courses to complete my masters in “Implementing Technology into the Classroom”. By participating in both of these opportunities, I will be more equipped when it comes to my second goal which is to expand my classroom outside of the four walls I have been given. Dr. Chris Dede said that “the real power of technology is outside of the classroom” (Laureate, 2007) and my students will learn to reach out so that their learning has more meaning.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008).Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore: Author.

Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.