Does anyone remember the game that people used to play on their calculator where you were a snake that had to eat a dot without running into itself? How about space invaders? I remember sitting in calculus senior year playing these games trying to beat the high score of my friend next to me. While I knew the designed function of the calculator was not to play games, I decided it was more fun than to figure out the inverse log and the derivatives of alpha 64 tangent high score! Please. Give me an option to use technology without a guard rail to keep me on track and I was probably not using it the way it was designed to be utilized. I saw technology as a way to detach myself from the task going on in the class and a way to entertain myself for a few minutes. Over the past 7 years there have been a plethora of advances in technology that exist both in and out of the classroom. That membrane is seemingly becoming more and more permeable, for better or worse.
Coming into the 504 class (Teaching with technology), I have to admit that I came in with a certain bias against technology in the classroom. This was reflected in our very first exercise when we were asked to draw our ideal classroom and SPECIFICALLY think about how the set up involved technology. I ignored the latter because I was more concerned with angles, grouping, desk placement, etc. I drew a few different arrangements that focused on drawing the students attention to the whiteboard I had in the front of the class. Technology was an afterthought for my class set up thinking process. Among the many reasons I have a certain level of distain for technology is that I fear our growing infatuation with technology is linked to diminishing social skills, avoidance of personal contact, and distant/shallow relationships. This was immediately adressed by our professor which quelled many of my fears for the class being this Extremist Advocation For Technology course.
After my professors shared their own concerns for technology being the driving component of a classroom I felt much better. It's almost as if a switch clicked on and I started to focus more intently now that I knew the purpose of the class wasn't to drive teachers out of the classroom and bring in the computers and tablets. This is when I began to acknowledge the potential benefits of technology when it is used appropriately and responsibly. Appropriate use of technology for my ideal classroom, for example, would be using Skype (or an equivalent) with international students to help improve listening and speaking skills in French. I also think "old school" technology (radio) would be extremely useful in listening comprehension, especially for those students who tend to learn more effectively through auditory means. I am starting to imagine the various ways that I can involve technology into the classroom and I look forward to learning more about the different ways I can accomplish this and the nuances of how to deliver lessons integrated with technology.
I am constantly seeing people consumed with their phones as they are out at dinner, walking around campus, or hanging out a friend's house. Technology use in the right setting can be extremely useful and enhancing. However, as is true with many things in the world, the intended use is too often misused and abused. I hope that this blog will give me a chance to organize my thoughts as they develop throughout the year. In particular, I am curious to see how my tune changes in terms of technology and it's relationship with the modern world. The challenge I currently see is determining a way to integrate technology into my classroom without it being a distraction or crutch. A challenge I am eager to accept. Happy fourth everyone!
I grew up playing Atari! That's literally the last video game I ever played! And that was a long time ago. I, too, am trying to figure out how best to use technology in my classroom "without it being a distraction or crutch." The challenge, then, is to make it interactive; to make it at once both user-friendly and intellectually-engaging. I often tell my students that not all history is "Googleable!" As far as French is concerned, perhaps something like Rosetta Stone could be a useful model?
ReplyDeleteSnake was clutch during study hall. I share your frustration with phones in general, particularly during mealtimes though. Side note, next time you go out with a group of friends for a meal, have everyone stack their phone in the middle of the table. First one to go for their phone during the meal buys for everyone. Back to the task at hand though, I share your concerns with technology in the classroom. I'm as guilty as the rest when it comes to misusing technology during class. Perhaps there are ways around that though; limited access to internet in classroom, no phones, etc. Who knows how effective that would actually be. We shall see.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED SNAKE. Not only did I play it on my calculator, but I had a brick of a phone that let me play it as well. As I got older, my calculator, like yours, became more consumed with games than actual math, chemistry, or physics functions. For me, however, it was block dude (if you haven't tried it recently, pull that old calculator out and give it a go). I was right with you with the drawing. I would not have added innovative technology besides maybe a projector unless the phrase "with specific attention to technology" was written on the board. Can't wait to learn more. Great post!
ReplyDelete1. I once beat Snake on my ol' TI-86 graphing calculator. That's right. Take it in.
ReplyDelete2. I fully agree with your points on the _appropriate_ use of technology, and I think a healthy disdain for it is better than a full embrace of it to the point of exiting the world around us. There are some aspects of portable tech that I'm thankful for (and blown away by) every day. A massive and ever-changing depository of human knowledge that's accessible in seconds? Amazing. The fact that so many people limit its use to popping jewels and looking at pictures of cats? Meh. I think that teaching young folks how to use tech without letting it become a stand-in for reality is one of our most important objectives as teachers, and I'm hopeful that if you come across any powerful ways of demonstrating this concept, you'll share it with the rest of us. I promise to do so as well.
I know this is completely against the whole interdisciplinary talk in Shari's class, but Matthew's comment made me wonder whether there can't be a separate class about using technology for school rather than having it in every classroom?
ReplyDeleteEvan, I appreciate your explanation and anecdote about why you are wary of technology. And I like your specific example of how you would use technology in your French class. That said, instead of Skype, why not have a real person come into your class (universities now have exchange students from around the globe, so it shouldn't be hard to find one locally who could come in for an hour)? The radio, though, is a cool idea that I can't really think of a substitute for (except maybe you reading aloud?). Haha, so I'm definitely wary of technology and would probably think of alternatives before adopting it into lesson plans because the potential for distraction or decreasing personal contact is pretty high, as you pointed out!