"Technology in your life"
That's the title of this week's assignment. "What role does technology currently play in your life?"
"Play in"??? How about "is"! I was a latecomer to the smart phone revolution. But because my brother was working at Verizon, the family got a deal and I chose a Droid. And that's all she wrote...I switched a couple of years ago to an iPhone. It would be impossible for me to go back now. I keep my grocery list, my to-do list, all my contacts, (if I lost my phone, I wouldn't even know my boyfriend or brother's phone numbers -- until I could get to wi-fi and use my computer or iPad to access iCloud)...basically, it is my external brain. I rely on immediate access to weather maps, the ability to answer any factual question with a quick google search, constant tie-in to Facebook (nearly exclusively to stalk...but I did post a picture of my 8 year-old Mr. Spock on Halloween.), and whatever else emerges as a need, since there is always an app for that.
As for my professional life, technology has made my current position necessary. I get to help teachers learn how to more effectively use technology to guide and deliver their teaching.
The final point we were asked to address is what adjustments we'd make in the arena of technology. I was particularly fascinated by an article this week -- http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rick_hess_straight_up/2012/11/technology_as_hamburger_helper.html.
In education, we have too often looked at the tool itself as a revolutionizing product. A SMARTBoard will transform teaching, for example. But that isn't true, as captured by this quote from the article:
Hockett explains, "School technology is really a vehicle and a tool. People are basically spending lots of money to own a Ferrari to drive a block to the store and back every day . . . They just felt that they had to jump and buy the next best iteration, but yet aren't even utilizing what they have."
What I would change is the many, many professional development hours I've spent in my teaching career learning about a digital tool, like VoiceThread. Is it a good product that can help teachers? Yes, but until a teacher understands why to transform their classroom to make problem-based learning and focus on developing critical thinking skills and has the skill-set and time to do so, then the tool itself is more of a stumbling block than an aid.
"Play in"??? How about "is"! I was a latecomer to the smart phone revolution. But because my brother was working at Verizon, the family got a deal and I chose a Droid. And that's all she wrote...I switched a couple of years ago to an iPhone. It would be impossible for me to go back now. I keep my grocery list, my to-do list, all my contacts, (if I lost my phone, I wouldn't even know my boyfriend or brother's phone numbers -- until I could get to wi-fi and use my computer or iPad to access iCloud)...basically, it is my external brain. I rely on immediate access to weather maps, the ability to answer any factual question with a quick google search, constant tie-in to Facebook (nearly exclusively to stalk...but I did post a picture of my 8 year-old Mr. Spock on Halloween.), and whatever else emerges as a need, since there is always an app for that.
As for my professional life, technology has made my current position necessary. I get to help teachers learn how to more effectively use technology to guide and deliver their teaching.
The final point we were asked to address is what adjustments we'd make in the arena of technology. I was particularly fascinated by an article this week -- http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rick_hess_straight_up/2012/11/technology_as_hamburger_helper.html.
In education, we have too often looked at the tool itself as a revolutionizing product. A SMARTBoard will transform teaching, for example. But that isn't true, as captured by this quote from the article:
Hockett explains, "School technology is really a vehicle and a tool. People are basically spending lots of money to own a Ferrari to drive a block to the store and back every day . . . They just felt that they had to jump and buy the next best iteration, but yet aren't even utilizing what they have."
What I would change is the many, many professional development hours I've spent in my teaching career learning about a digital tool, like VoiceThread. Is it a good product that can help teachers? Yes, but until a teacher understands why to transform their classroom to make problem-based learning and focus on developing critical thinking skills and has the skill-set and time to do so, then the tool itself is more of a stumbling block than an aid.