Week 4 April 21, 2014
Technology
is such a prominent entity in the everyday lives of so many people today. It is everywhere. In my observations you cannot go anywhere
anymore without seeing at least a handful of people around you staring down at
their smartphones
or a tablet of some sort.
Technology is everywhere and I feel it can be very distracting out in
social situations, family gatherings and, in general, most public places. An article
I came across stated it perfectly, "Whenever we go anywhere, we are - and
we want to be - somewhere else simultaneously." (Weeks, 2014)
Though I feel the use of all this technology can be a distraction out in
public I do feel that within a classroom setting it can be a wonderful thing
for the students.
My vision of
technology in the classroom revolves around helping my students communicate
more effectively and teaching them in a more interactive and interesting
manner, as for many of them, learning through the use of paper and pencil or
lecture does not hold their attention. 
First and
foremost I would like to see all my students have an effective form of
communication. For some students this
could be a high tech devise such as an iPad or device such as a
Dynavox or it could
be a low tech system such as picture exchange. All these systems allow for a person to
communicate through the use of pictures.
With this type of technology at their fingertips it would allow them to
more effectively communicate with others as well as cut down on some of the
behaviors and meltdowns because they would be able to learn to communicate
their wants and needs.
Secondly,
through the use of technology I am able to teach my students in a way that they
learn best. A lot of my students are
very visual/tactile learners and highly enjoy the use of a computer. If each child had some type of tablet
available to them and the many different educational
apps that go along with them they would all be able to learn in a way that
is interesting to them. I would not
replace sitting with my students one on one with using a tablet but it is a
great supplemental and independent learning tool for them. At this time I have one iPad in my classroom
which is used on a daily basis. We use
it to work on skills such as letter formation, spelling, reading, addition,
colors and many more.
For me,
technology in the classroom is a great resource for my students to tap in
to. It is frustrating that the school I
work in has not received much up to date technology which can cause some
struggles because the educational programs we do have on disc do not always
work. My hope is that someday all my
students will have access to the latest and greatest technology that will allow
them to not only learn new skills but will allow them to communicate with
others in their lives in an effective way.
Work Cited:
Weeks, Linton.
"We Are Just Not Here Anymore."
NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. April 22,
2014. http://www.npr.org/blogs/theprotojournalist/2014/02/11/268876281/we-are-just-not-here-anymore
"I Forgot
My Phone." YouTube. YouTube, August 22,
2013. Web. April 22, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OINa46HeWg8
"Whenever we go anywhere, we are - and we want to be - somewhere else simultaneously." I enjoyed this quote also because it definitely rings true! I feel like even if people are enjoying themselves, they are unable to live in the moment and are always wondering what's happening elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you also included Dynavoxes in your discussion. I worked with two students who used these communication devices last year and what a difference it made in their ability to interact with the curriculum and their peers!