I feel that perhaps in naming this blog Technology in Education, for the Future, I was not taking into consideration that the future is now. What I’ve been able to learn as I read, “Navigating the Digital Rapids”, was that there is already so much of a conscious awareness on the part of teachers that the technology that is present today needs to be a part of the day to day class environment. That this day to day environment has to be flexible and not stagnate, or unyielding. New technology can then be incorporated into the lesson plan, and have the capacity to bring about change. Teachers are also coming together to teach class to students were they are teaching using a virtual class lesson plan. Both student and teacher are exposed to digital learning by giving them both an opportunity to use digital tools. Already in this instance NETS-T is being addressed; where innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments is used. Administrators are giving teachers the support that they need to encourage teachers to conduct these classes.
“Navigating the Digital Rapids”, means just that navigating, it means that lesson plans need to be set up so that digital tools can be used within the lesson plan. The analogy that the authors’ use, help to describe just what to expect when you embark on this mission. It’s helpful to know that in the beginning you might first face difficulty with the digital tools but that eventually with practice and patience you can become familiar with the technology.
Virginia,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, technology is a rapidly growing field that will have vast improvements over the years to come but we are already living in the age of technology. With the rapid dissemination of information students are looking for instant gratification to a question. While this discussion may be a tangent to the dialogue we are engaged in, factors contributing to this may be: text messaging, smart phones, almost instant internet connection anywhere, and search engines like Google. Educators must realize, and embrace these changes in how information is gathered.
In your first paragraph you stated, "New technology can then be incorporated into the lesson plan." How do you feel this can be accomplished? As an undergraduate performing service learning work I have had the opportunity to witness the capabilities of incorporating an Ipad into the teaching process. Do you have any first hand accounts or ideas?
Virginia,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog I have realized how much technology is a part of a classroom. I do not believe we could walk in a classroom today with only a chalk board and desks present. Although I see the advantages of having a technologically advanced classroom I have to ask myself, are we too dependent on it? It the power goes out or a computer crashes the teacher has to be able to have a plan B when depending on technology because once in a while something might go wrong. Just the other day in a lecture the projector was not working therefore my teacher resorted to the white board. As future teacher is this extremely important because I will need to always have a back up plan if technology fails.