The subtitle of Postman's book Technopoly, "The Surrender of Culture to Technology" really caught my eye before I even started to read. I can't say I felt like I was surrendering to technology. In fact, on some days, I probably felt more like running from technology. But he made a very clear argument outlining the strong influence that technology has on society, whether that influence was intended or not. I loved his statement, "A bargain is struck in which technology giveth and technology taketh away" (5). He clarifies this statement even more when he writes, "it is not always clear, at least in the early stages of a technology's intrusion into a culture, who will gain most by it and who will lose most. This is because the changes wrought by technology are subtle if not downright mysterious, one might even say wildly unpredictable" (12).
As an educator, and as a student taking a course called "Enhancing Education with Technology," this leaves me with some serious responsibility and some serious questions. Am I wanting to learn more about technology just to be more modern and to look like I am on the "cutting edge" of education? Will the use of technology really enhance the education I am providing? Will my students be "losers" or "winners" or both as I introduce new technology into their educational world and their lives? Am I being irresponsible if I don't show them as much as I can about technology and use it to its full extent, because that's the world they live in (and it's actually the world I live in too)? And I guess a culminating question -- do all my previous questions really get to the true meaning of reforming all of life under God?
I liked your question about being irresponsible if we don't show students as much as we can about technology. . .and use it to its full extent. That got me really thinking! Are we helping or hurting students by limiting the technology we use. . .or vice versa. . .are we helping--or hurting--students by using technology all the time? I have a hard time with thinking I am "producing" in a sense "winners" or "losers" by what I don't do or do introduce in the classroom in that respect. I hope this course will bring about more discussion on this topic, because I don't have the answer!!!
ReplyDeleteI also began to wonder if there was some kind of developmental scale (like there is in terms of child development or reading development, etc.) of what kids can handle with/on computers or iPads, etc. at certain times in their lives, and are we helping or hurting kids by when or if we introduce these things at the wrong times? Hmmm. . ..
I like your question concerning a technology developmental scale, Susan. I never really thought about this because young children seem to be naturally skilled and unafraid of technology. I have questioned whether too much exposure to technology at a young age could harm a child's ability to be creative or to learn well in many areas. I guess that I've always felt that technology harmed a child's ability to communicate socially with others but It is here to stay so we have to make the best of it. There are so many questions concerning child development and technology. I assume that there are studies out there on this subject.
ReplyDeleteI've been pondering the idea of a technology development scale a bit more today. While chatting with a teacher friend of mine I realized that my 5th grade students had participated in an unplanned experiment in this exact area. I love to do a lot of creative writing with my 5th graders but the editing gets overwhelming for me. This year I had 23 students, and access to a mobile laptop cart. So, I began the year with them writing with a pencil, editing 2 of their classmates work with a pen, and then typing their work before giving it to me to edit. There still was much for me to do, but I could easily read their work and they were learning from each other. The process was fabulous and they really enjoyed it. Near the end of the year, I wondered if 5th grade students could compose on the laptops. We began with poetry, and then moved to story, report, and letter writing. Not only were they able to do this, their writing was even better. They loved this process because it was less tedious, easier to correct, and spell check was a huge relief for some of my struggling spellers. I had thought that maybe using the keyboard to compose would inhibit their writing, but what I found was the opposite. Because they begin keyboarding in 4th grade, my 5th graders were very ready to compose and produce their writing on the laptops, while enjoying the entire process. I saw a new excitement for writing when they were pushed to the next level of using technology.
ReplyDeleteI would love it if my class could do a lot of their "composing" on their laptops, but their keyboarding skills aren't proficient enough yet to keep up with their thoughts. When is a good time to introduce keyboarding skills so they will be useful to their learning? We introduce it at grade two, but they still don't have the skills to really "write" with their keyboard.
DeleteJudy, I think you're asking exactly the right questions! *Why* are we using technology in school anyway? (Please note, I'm not arguing against using technology for teaching and learning...you've probably picked up on that from me by now.) ;-)
ReplyDeleteBut I think this question is not raised often enough in schools today. Everyone just seems to blindly assume that a tech-infused assignment is automatically better than one that is decidedly low-tech. I'm just not sure that is true...
Yes, so on what merit do we add or delete technology from our lesson plans?
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