Teachers have always been looked up to a relied upon to educate, to know the answer to the question before it is asked. Students have always looked to teachers for this support and knowledge, for how is a student to trust their teacher if the teacher knows not what they are teaching?
Schools often feel this way inclined! Which is wrong!
So why is it then that technology should be different? Why do we as teachers find ourselves playing catch up with the students? WHY are we afraid of ICT? WHY don’t we know the answer to the question?
Technology has two main strengths in education to assist students in the construction of ideas and work, and to assist teachers in the instruction of students by making the teaching environment (preferably) more engaging and more efficient.
According to researchers Halverson and Smith, the greatest area of modern ICT (information communication technology) in education to date resides in the area of assessment. For most teachers assessment can be difficult; however through new technological means it has not become easier (Halverson and Smith, 2009). For example, to assess a class of oral presentations would require a teacher to partake in extensive work due to the fact that they would only have one chance to listen to the student and take in all they have to say, how they are saying it and any other marking criteria they set. Now thanks to applications such as PowerPoint and recording devices students can now be filmed so the teacher can re-watch the same footage and view the backing slides to gain better feedback for the students. This is also beneficial for students who do not find talking in front of their peers comfortable, if they record their oral in private, they are not disadvantaged by their discomfort.
However, as shown in research done by Beauchamp and Kennewell – to be put plainly – ICT cannot substitute for effective and in depth teaching. Their research uncovered that most of the ICT used by “good teachers” (Beauchamp and Kennewell, 2008) was at a superficial level and that regardless of the use of ICT or not (at this aptitude) the quality of learning occurred differed little. What they concluded was that if the quality of the teaching was then assisted by a stongly and deeply intergrated use of technology, thus technological teaching instead of teaching with ICT added on the side, the level and quality of the learning taking place was substantially greater. What this means for us as teachers then is, as supported by the quote below, that we need to embrace technology at the very basis of our teaching and planning and use it thoroughly as opposed to occasionally or just to add a little zest to our material.
“Teachers also need to be convinced of the value of technology as a tool to supplement and improve classroom practice. Technology, which is well integrated into the curriculum, rather than merely added to it, may be one means by which skeptical teachers may develop positive beliefs about the role of technology as a tool for learning.”Wozney, Venkatesh, & Abrami (2006) (as taken from Orange. Dr.C, 2009)
Finally, it is within all teachers best interests to become technologically advanced and adept, so not only as to not be left behind by our peers and the educational system, but also to maintain a strong educational bond with our students and to assist them in the best possible way in the 21st century. For more information on this visit http://techteaching.net/teachers.html for greater assistance.
Remember this: Don’t say why to wi fi. There’s no need to be a twit about twitter. It’s time to face facebook, and come inside from the darkness and join the rest of the World Wide Web. Students of today are Digital natives and we are foreigners in their land, integrated, or be left behind.
Teachers have always been looked up to a relied upon to educate, to know the answer to the question before it is asked. Students have always looked to teachers for this support and knowledge, for how is a student to trust their teacher if the teacher knows not what they are teaching?
So why is it then that technology should be different? Why do we as teachers find ourselves playing catch up with the students? WHY are we afraid of ICT? WHY don’t we know the answer to the question?
Technology has two main strengths in education to assist students in the construction of ideas and work, and to assist teachers in the instruction of students by making the teaching environment (preferably) more engaging and more efficient.
According to researchers Halverson and Smith, the greatest area of modern ICT (information communication technology) in education to date resides in the area of assessment. For most teachers assessment can be difficult; however through new technological means it has not become easier (Halverson and Smith, 2009). For example, to assess a class of oral presentations would require a teacher to partake in extensive work due to the fact that they would only have one chance to listen to the student and take in all they have to say, how they are saying it and any other marking criteria they set. Now thanks to applications such as PowerPoint and recording devices students can now be filmed so the teacher can re-watch the same footage and view the backing slides to gain better feedback for the students. This is also beneficial for students who do not find talking in front of their peers comfortable, if they record their oral in private, they are not disadvantaged by their discomfort.
However, as shown in research done by Beauchamp and Kennewell – to be put plainly – ICT cannot substitute for effective and in depth teaching. Their research uncovered that most of the ICT used by “good teachers” (Beauchamp and Kennewell, 2008) was at a superficial level and that regardless of the use of ICT or not (at this aptitude) the quality of learning occurred differed little. What they concluded was that if the quality of the teaching was then assisted by a stongly and deeply intergrated use of technology, thus technological teaching instead of teaching with ICT added on the side, the level and quality of the learning taking place was substantially greater. What this means for us as teachers then is, as supported by the quote below, that we need to embrace technology at the very basis of our teaching and planning and use it thoroughly as opposed to occasionally or just to add a little zest to our material.
“Teachers also need to be convinced of the value of technology as a tool to supplement and improve classroom practice. Technology, which is well integrated into the curriculum, rather than merely added to it, may be one means by which skeptical teachers may develop positive beliefs about the role of technology as a tool for learning.” Wozney, Venkatesh, & Abrami (2006) (as taken from Orange. Dr.C, 2009)
Finally, it is within all teachers best interests to become technologically advanced and adept, so not only as to not be left behind by our peers and the educational system, but also to maintain a strong educational bond with our students and to assist them in the best possible way in the 21st century. For more information on this visit http://techteaching.net/teachers.html for greater assistance.
Remember this: Don’t say why to wi fi. There’s no need to be a twit about twitter. It’s time to face facebook, and come inside from the darkness and join the rest of the World Wide Web. Students of today are Digital natives and we are foreigners in their land,
integrated, or be left behind.
Link to page of references used above: Reference Link