I think it is so important to incorporate technology into the classroom. However, I feel that not all teachers are going to be ready even though we need to be since technology is a MAJOR part of our world today. Our students are growing up in a world that is very technologically based and we need to be able to meet the needs and demands of todays world. Unfortunately, not all teacher education programs are preparing our teachers for these demands. Universities are rethinking their teacher education programs. If teachers want to be able to use technology correctly and effectively in their classrooms, they need to be taught during their teacher education programs. Since there are new types of technology that are coming out every year, most teachers feel that they are unprepared to take on the task of incorporating technology into their classroom. Teacher education programs need to be able to prepare the students for the classrooms today by helping them to learn how to use the different types of technology that are available to them and how to use them in the correct way. Most importantly, teachers need to be able to demonstrate how to integrate technology into their classroom by using meaningful forms of technology as well as build their own self-efficacy in using technology. By doing this the teacher is able to help promote the student’s critical thinking skills as well as problem solving skills. I also feel that schools need to help teachers who already have a classroom and have been teaching for several years with the demand of technology. Schools should have professional development in order to assist students. I understand that sometimes this is going to be difficult but if we are demanding so much out of our teachers, the schools need to give some assistance. Even if this means talking about different types of technology over a few months during staff meetings. Another idea to think about is is all this technology worth the cost because let's face it technology is not cheap! I hope this video helps to get you thinking!
http://www.npr.org/2013/03/03/173372736/teaching-2-0-is-tech-in-the-classroom-worth-the-cost
Donna, great colors! Well I completely agree with you on the training that needs to be provided to the teaches/educators. We can't focus that much on just getting the schools the technology they need, but also focus on getting the teachers the training they need. When I went to visit schools in Willow Run I noticed it was actually the student teachers that were working the technology and not the other teachers. Schools many time just focus on the machine, and not on the educator and their readiness to teach with these new forms of technology. Great clip!
ReplyDeleteThanks Christina,
ReplyDeleteI feel that it is so important to work on both aspects: getting schools technology and getting teachers training. It's important that all teachers are using the technology because one day those student teachers will be gone and the teachers might not know how to use the technology that they have available to them.