Tech Savvy Teachers Need to be efficient. Before technology, students were required to take notes by hand, spend hours in the library researching an assignment, and experience difficulty with collaborating. Now, today’s students can type away expediently on the computer, find cutting-edge research online, and collaborate using google docs. Teachers can use technology to post power points and notes online for their students to see and reference for assignments. Technology can be used for teachers to communicate with students to help with homework via Skyping. Emailing can create an easy exchange of information between teachers, faculty, staff, and students. Teachers can find lesson plans online, through sites such as: “TeachersPayTeachers,” “Pinterest,” and “Teacher Vision.” Thus, technology provides information readily at one’s fingertips which can help make finding information more convenient and teaching more efficient.
The art and craft of teaching with technology
Good meme. The pace of learning certainly has increased. The key is to have a workflow that benefits from how quickly we can do things.
You seem to be very pro technology. And while I agree with everything you’re saying about how great tech is, I just wonder if this is what you want classrooms to look like in the future? Or if this is just where it looks like technology is leading us to?
Hi Margaret,
I think there needs to be a balance with using technology in a classroom. I am pro-technology, but I also think that technology should be regulated. I have student-taught in a Kindergarten classroom where every student was given a Chromebook to use.
I remember on the first day of Kindergarten, one student whipped out his iphone from his backpack.
His mom said, “Honey, we do not need cellphones in Kindergarten.”
A lot of students abused the privilege of technology in the classroom, and went on sites such as youtube, or would shut down the computer (but pretend that their computers were not working) pluck off the keys, etc. I think technology in the classroom can be beneficial, when students are taught how to use it in ways that limit distractions and promote learning. However, I believe technology should be introduced more slowly in schools, because it can promote disengagement and funnel energy into playing video games and youtube videos that promote immediate gratification over long-term fulfillment.
I agree with you that technology is speeding up our world because everything we need to know is right at our fingertips. I remember being told that we needed to memorize our multiplication tables because no one walks around with a calculator in their pocket, well now we can all download an app that can help solve crazy algebra problems. However this can also make students too reliant on technology so I also thinks there needs to be a balance for how much we let it be present in the classroom.