Technology: For Teachers Only?

Yesterday in my TE class, I got to watch a presentation by a current social studies intern about incorporating technology into the classroom, specifically during our upcoming internship year. One of the tools she talked about extensively was Google Earth, explaining how her students loved when she used it, raving about how they were so much more engaged in her lectures, and showing us an example of a tour she had just put together as part of a lecture on the Civil Rights Movement. During this whole time, I could not help but compare what she was doing to the integrated technology lesson plan I designed for this class, which asked students to use Google Earth to come up with theories about how geography impacted Civil War battles. I was especially intrigued when she said that her main use of Google Earth was to keep students engaged, but she would never let students use it themselves because it is too much fun and they would simply goof off on it. Suddenly, an intern with way more classroom experience with me had unintentionally suggested that my lesson would be a complete bomb in an actual classroom. This was an important wake up call for me because it showed me how I may be taking my teaching philosophy too far. Although I would argue with her that teachers should not hoard the use of technology because they assume that students are too immature to handle it responsibly and use it productively, her comment made me notice that I have allowed a central element of my teaching philosophy, the emphasis I want to have on student discovery and student-created learning, impact my understanding of how technology can be used in the classroom. It has made me think overwhelmingly about how my future students will use technology in my classroom in lieu of also reflecting on how I, as the teacher, will use technology for instructional purposes outside of students doing assignments with technology. Instead, I need to make sure that I keep a balance in my classroom between technology that I use and technology that I assign my students to use, remembering especially that I should not expect my students to use technology frequently if I do not make a concerted effort to do so myself as well. This is a crucial light bulb moment for my continuing development as a future teacher.

Original Image: Lightbulb
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arenamontanus/481281796/sizes/s/in/photostream/
By: Arenamontanus

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