Today was the last day of the summer semester!! Yay!
We had a really interesting discussion in class about how technology fits into the classroom, and whether teachers should be held accountable for being "technologically literate". I think I stand somewhere in the middle; I know that students will have to have these skills in order to be successful in almost anything these days, but as an economics teacher I'm not sure that it is necessarily my job to teach these skills to my students. But when I think about the question- being technologically literate- I think that this strays from the point. I think that there should be perhaps a separate, mandatory class for high schoolers that teaches them how to use various technologies... sort of like what this class is for us. Ultimately, I'd have to say yes, teachers need to be technologically literate. If you don't know how to use something, you could potentially be missing out on a bunch of really useful, engaging activities to incorporate into your lessons. It could also very well be that you learn about all this stuff, and still decide there's not much of a way to incorporate any of it into your lesson. That's why I think this issue- like so many other "hot topics"- really depends on individual circumstances. I don't think we can say that every teacher MUST use certain technologies- that is obviously impractical. I don't think that it is outrageous to require teachers to be knowledgable about how to use technology, however. Obviously there will have to be some consideration for people who really do struggle with understanding how all these new-fangled things work- there will always be some that excel at it and some that don't. But I do believe at some level that teachers need to be held accountable for knowing how to do some basic, general things.
Someone mentioned how distracting it can be when a teacher takes 5+ minutes to load a single powerpoint file- not to mention the valuable time that wastes! Knowing how to do something simple like that is not asking too much, at least I don't think, and I think most would agree about the practicality of it. Things like podcasts, however, I have a harder time justifying... but there are no doubt some very creative, engaging projects teachers could incorporate with podcasts. It is too bad that some classes/students will miss out on these opportunities because the teacher is not even aware of the possibility. But at the same time, there is NO point in using these technologies just for the sake of using them- the project/activity must still be relevant and not too far-fetched.
Overall, I think I approach this class with an open mind- I know there is A LOT out there that I don't even know exists, and for the sake of my future students I believe I should at least be aware of them. That's why I'm quite interested in the things we will learn and encounter in this class. Maybe I don't use some of it, but I know I will be a better teacher having had the experience and exposure with all these potentially powerful tools.
On another note, Stephanie took my kitty Oliver up north with her for break just now... I miss him =( But I know they will have a good time together, and break will go faster than I want it to so I will be reunited with him soon! (And thank you Stephanie for cat-sitting!!!!!) =)
