Reflecting on the Impact of Technology in Education

Reflecting on the Impact of Technology in Education

In order to effectively teach 21st Century learners, today’s teachers must develop technology skills that utilize Web 2.0 tools such as blogging, podcasting, and wikis. Before this course, I had very limited experience blogging. Like many people I have a Facebook account, I occasionally “tweet” on Twitter, and I view videos produced on YouTube, but I still consider myself a novice at creating and consuming information on the read and write web. This course has given me the opportunity to start my own blog, develop a podcast, and work on an instructional wiki space with others. These experiences have opened my eyes to the many possibilities that exist in using Web 2.0 applications in the classroom. I realize that the future is now. Students can now use the Internet not just for research and surfing purposes, but for collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, cross-cultural understanding, communication, computing, and career and learning self-reliance (Trillig, 2005). I am learning how my role as a teacher in the 21st Century is shifting to facilitating and guiding students through the learning process because the amount of information students have at their fingertips requires a new paradigm through which to learn.
I have learned that as a professional educator and someone involved in the schooling process that I must change my approach to the teaching and learning process because of the impact of technology. Many students become jaded in today’s schools because administrators and teachers ask them to “power down” in the classroom (Prensky, 2008). Students are asked to turn off their cell phones and ipods, and use their limited time with computers in school, according to Thornburg to “do things differently” not to “do different things” (Laureate Education Inc., 2008). Students after school lives are very technologically rich, yet their exposure to useful meaningful technology in school can be severely and unnecessarily restricted because schools and teachers are hanging on to 20th Century methods that are losing effectiveness with today’s 21st Century-digital native learners. Educators must learn to embrace these new technologies to prepare students for the future. Web 2.0 tools are making learning more relevant, meaningful, and engaging. In this Information Age students have the potential to take their education to unfathomable heights, as Friedman notes, “Anyone with smarts, internet access, and a cheap wireless laptop can invent.” (Friedman, 2005). It is our job as teachers to develop the kind of “smarts” through 21st Century Skills that will enable students to maximize their potential as life-long learners.

To become life-long learners students must develop 21st Century Skills. These skills go far beyond the 3 R’s of reading, writing, and arithmetic (Trillig, 2005). In today’s digital world a new set of skills requires a new approach to the classroom. Thornburg relates that the teacher-centered, direct-instruction, one-size fits all approach to schooling, no longer meets the needs of digital learners in the post-industrial world (Laureate Education, Inc, 2008). I am learning that I need to give students opportunities to wrestle with meaning through critical thinking, and generate new ideas by giving them the opportunity to create artifacts that show evidence of higher order thinking. I also need to provide students with opportunities to collaborate and have meaningful discussions about the material. That is a fundamental reason why blogs, wikis, and podcasting are so effective for meeting the needs of today’s learners. A learner-centered environment also frees the teacher from having to know everything which means the teacher becomes more of a model-learner, a guide to help students figure things out for themselves.
As a model-learner, I will need to stay current on how to use effectively use new technologies in the classroom. It is necessary for me to expand my knowledge by reading and contributing to educational blogs, wikis, and podcasts. I must model taking academic risks by experimenting with new teaching strategies involving technology on a regular basis. I will need to attend workshops, seminars, and webinars to make sure that I am up to date on new advancements in technology pertaining to education. I also must carefully observe the natural ways that students are learning after-school, and play an active role in determining how best to use cell-phones, mp3 players, and even video games to better facilitate student learning.

Transforming the classroom into a 21st Century learning environment is no small task; goals must be set in order for significant change to be achieved. The first goal I have is to advocate for more computers in the social studies classroom. My school has a mobile computer lab of 30 laptops to be shared by an entire social studies department of about 12 teachers. In order to blog, podcast, and work on wikis in the classroom, students must have access to the Internet and computers. I will need to be a technology advocate in department meetings, and petition the administration and school board for more monies to be spent on computers for student use. This may mean I need to apply for a grant. A good start might be to have 5-10 laptops in each classroom so that students can use them to work in small groups, or take turns creating and researching content on Web 2.0. The next goal I have is to make a classroom blog. I am still in the process of deciding whether to make this mandatory for all students (because some may not have computer access at home) or as an alternative assignment. In order to make it mandatory, I will need to work with the library and computer lab staff to ensure that students have adequate time to do their work before or after school. An overarching goal for me is to continue develop a coherent learner-centered teaching style that achieves balance in meeting the needs of today’s digital natives while at the same time recognizing the realities of the school system, which includes high-stakes, standards-based district assessments that do not always take into consideration the way technology is having on impact on education, work, and society.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Technology and society [Motion Picture]. In Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore: Author.

Friedman, T. (2005, April 3). It's a flat world, after all. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

Prensky, M. (2008, March). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40–45.

Trilling, B. (2005). Towards learning societies and the global challenges for learning with ICT. TechForum.