Pros and Cons of Tech

Things that should be done with technology:

Ø     showing video or graphics that will help clarify concepts and excite their imaginations!

o      using technology to expand the kinds of activities students can do in regards to a subject 
like a literary map on Google maps to help the setting come to life

Ø     facilitating parent-teacher communication

o      email, weekly/monthly online newsletters, teacher webpage

o      facilitating teacher- student communication

o      webpage, email, EDU 2.0

o      Facilitating student- student work/collaboration

o      tools like Google docs to do group work at home

Things that shouldn't be done with technology: (with focus on my subject area, English)

Ø     replacing reading with using media

Ø     replacing face to face parent-teacher communication

Ø     small group discussions

Ø     close readings of a text

The main claim I would make about the use of technology as a learning tool is that it shouldn't ever be used to replace something but to enhance it.

Technology tools should not replace face to face human interaction, they should be used to facilitate learning by expanding the possibilities of interaction. Technology should not replace the content but be used to enhance the content.

I have reservations about the uses and reliance on technology, as you may have seen in other blogs. This is based on the tendency for tech to become distracting or from threat of it having unforeseen implications. Yet, I am definitely for using technology in ways that enhance learning for students. I want to/ must prepare them for a world I can hardly fathom because it will be so technologically integrated.  My role is to help guide and provide ways for them to interact on a human level and on a technological level.