In the Technology Jungle

            Although it may look easy to integrate technology into the classroom, I have found it to be more difficult. I am not sure if it is just because I teach literature and writing and/or the fact that I am considered a digital immigrant because of my age. I can have my students use word processing all the time for numerous things and using other media has been easy but using the internet, databases and spread sheets is not as simple. It does come down to my effort most of the time or how creative I can be with the lesson but in the long run, word processing is King in my classroom. I have used web quests for numerous activities to engage “digital natives” and that almost always layers the learning and really requires higher order thinking to complete but the real tie in for my area comes down to the writing part in the long run.

            After reading and viewing the videos for this week, I felt like I wanted to scream! Sam seems like a brilliant young girl but I can’t help but ask how at her age can she not interact with a real book? Where were her parents when she was younger? Although technology is moving fast, I do not think her textbooks will be on the Kindle or Nook by the time she needs them. The ways of old may seem to be just that but I can’t help but wonder if she needed some help along the way. Could she need glasses or be dyslexic? The video did not show us everything we needed to know about Sam and why she needs to interact with technology so much. Being a teacher and a mother in this situation, I can’t help but ask questions that need answers. Having gotten off my soapbox, I think students today have to be able to use a variety of media and if schools have the funding to achieve that then everyone will be on the same level. My concern here is that the have-nots will be just that. I have been using computers since I was a child in one way or another because my parents knew it was the newest and latest type of learning tool. They had the money to buy it and provide the technology for me. Programming came in high school but they were still using the electric typewriter in typing class! Real life applications for me only happened in an office environment after that. In my teaching experience, I have often found it challenging to use technology because of the lack of equipment, the poor state of the internet connection and the lack of money to change either. School districts need to invest more in what is coming and try harder to keep up with the current state of technology in order to better serve the whole school. 

          There is also some concern about relationships. We live in a “viral” world but we still have to interact with each other on a daily basis. I feel that texting and social networking sites have done our society a disservice in regards to empathy and real communication. Texting to communicate does emit emotion, even with a smiley face! I try hard to not text anyone because I know I should just pick up the phone instead! Overall, students in general seem to like interacting with a variety of technology in the classroom so I am sure research going forward will only prove this to be a benefit to our students and society, but in the big picture of things I also try to remember that technology is a valuable tool and not the end to end all things! Teachers cannot really be replaced by computers but should utilize them to help engage students in the classroom more often.

            Lastly, my four-year old son says he does not need to learn how to tie his shoes because most of his shoes have Velcro. He might be right but then again maybe not, so I will teach him how to tie his laces anyway. Handwriting may not be as important now as it was when I didn’t make the penmanship club in third grade, but I will teach my son how to handwrite anyway. As a species we do not really like change so even though we are going forward with the integration of technology into all parts of our world, we may still need to hand write a few things and even tie our own laces once in awhile.