Technology in Education: Yea? or Nay? (EDT-5410, Week 1, Task 7)

Technology in Education: Yea? or Nay? (EDT-5410, Week 1, Task 7)

Articles:
Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology Transformation
Of Luddites, Learning, and Life

While these articles present differing view points, they do have somewhat of a common theme: simply putting technology into classrooms does not enhance learning. Without innovative lesson planning and guidance from the teacher, technology is just one more thing in the classroom. Additionally, both include learning to work in teams, problem solve, and take initiative as key outcomes of schooling.

Transformation of our educational system and instructional methods is needed with, or without technology implementation. Too many of our students (and I’m speaking broadly here) graduate from high school without the necessary skills to become contributing citizens, minimally at the local level, let alone in our global economy. We (school employees in every category) cannot continue to “do business the way we always have”; our world is evolving around us, and our educational systems must evolve also.

I feel that the benefits of technology in education can be significant, but only with proper planning and on-going, progressive training (how to use the item) and professional development (how to integrate it into the teaching method and curriculum) for the teachers. Additionally, quality is crucial; in a previous on-line course through a different university, the lessons were poorly constructed; were little more than a summary of the reading; and contained typographical, if not factual errors.

Difficult as it would be to manage, I am all for a system that is based on mastery and not time; we all learn at different speeds. However, I can only begin to imagine the difficulty in successfully running this type of environment.

So, my stance is for technology and school transformation.

Barb