Philosophy of Technology in Education

Instructional technologies are a powerful tool in the modern classroom.  Like any tool, when used correctly technology can greatly enhance a lesson, but used incorrectly can distract or detract from the intended instruction.

As I see it, incorporating technology into educational settings serves a dual purpose.  One, as I said above, is that it can, when used appropriately, greatly enhance the educational experience for students.  Beyond that, the mere act of exposing students to technology serves a purpose in itself.  Today's students have grown up surrounded by technological devices, and while gadgets play an everyday role in their lives, there is a difference between passive, entertainment & basic communication uses and active, analytical and computational uses of which these gadgets are capable.  For instance, I taught a lesson on how to use Excel in a middle school classroom, and most students were surprised that you could use a computer to compute things!  Therefore, considering the technology-rich world in which our students will be reaching adulthood, we have a duty to expose them to the means of using technology productively, including such tools as the internet and web 2.0 tools, PowerPoint, Excel, media production,and even proper and appropriate use of communications tools such as email.

So, while students get the added benefit of being exposed to proper use of technology in the classroom, I believe technology's primary place in the classroom is to enhance education in the other subjects.  PowerPoint presentations have been used for some time to enhance lectures, but I hope to go a couple steps farther in my classroom.  I'll use media tools and web 2.0 tools to help students to work collaboratively, use spreadsheets and data acquisition interfaces to streamline data collection, processing, and presentation in laboratory activities, and utilize display hardware in the classroom to share ideas.

I, too, grew up with technology, although for me it consisted of an Apple II on which I learned to program BASIC.  The basic idea is the same, however.  Students today are fluent in the language of technology, I hope to teach them conventions that can help them apply their fluency productively.