REFLECTIONS

Technology has become a valuable resource to teachers, if used properly.  In the age of computers, simply clicking a button can now access resources once unavailable.  Due to the increase of technology in the schools, more is expected of new teachers.  New teachers are expected to enter the educational field with knowledge not only in their content areas, but of technology as well.

Teaching programs across the country have started to incorporate technology classes into teaching curriculums.  The purpose of this is to train future teachers to be competent in technology skills.  Schools want to see teachers using all the technologies available to them.  Many feel that technology is the answers to all the problems that are plaguing the educational system today.

Schools need to prepare students for the future; every student will use technology in some aspect of their lives.  It does not matter whether the student is working at a grocery store or is an accountant; technology is going to be present.  It is my feeling that the job of teachers is more than just teaching the content areas in which we are trained.  Educators are responsible for preparing students to survive and prosper in the real world.  If society is technology based, then students need to come out of school with some technology skills.

The problem that many school systems are facing is that some older teachers are not using as much technology as the school may want them to.  Some teachers are having trouble converting over to a technology-based classroom, maybe due to a fear of technology or just an unwillingness to change.  School systems are spending thousands of dollars on in-service workshops to teach teachers how to use technology more effectively in their classrooms.  Technology has an ever-increasing role in the realm of the educational system.
 
 

Teachers need to attend workshops to become better educators.  Here I am at a digital history workshop, held at the Library of Congress.

In the fall of 2000, I attended a digital history workshop at the Library of Congress.  The workshop is designed to teach educators how to incorporate technology into their classrooms.  Furthermore, the workshop demonstrated several websites that are useful to educators.  As stated previously, technology is becoming more important in the educational process, creating a need for extra training in the use and implementation of technology.  Although the workshop only lasted one day, the Library of Congress conducts week-long workshops to help create digital history lessons that will be accessible to everyone.

The Library of Congress has posted thousands of pictures and documents on their American Memory website.  This site has aided me a lot in gathering primary sources for lesson plans.  Many of these sources were previously unavailable unless one traveled to the Library of Congress in person.  Now, access to these documents are open to any person with Internet access.  I am hoping to one day return to the Library of Congress to participate in the week-long workshop.

I left the workshop feeling more comfortable using technology and enthusiastic to use some of the things that I learned in the classroom.  Until now, I had no idea how many primary sources were available on the Internet.  It is amazing what is now available without ever having to leave your house.  This really impacts how social studies educators will teach their students.

During my school days, the most technology I saw teachers use was overheads and videos.  Now with classrooms equipped to handle technology, teachers are expected to use them.  I foresee teachers using power point presentations to deliver lessons and having more computer-based assignments.  It is now easier to teach using constructivist methods because it is easier to access primary sources.  Rarely in my education did I ever see primary sources unless they were inserted in the textbooks.

Technology has also helped teachers to become less dependent on textbooks.  Now that all types of sources are more available, teachers can create handouts and lessons from information found on the Internet.  Technology allows teachers to teach differently from how they were taught.  Educators can present more examples and can present primary sources in order to help students construct knowledge.  Education is an ever-changing profession; technology has helped to speed this process up.

School systems and educators need to remember that technology is not the fix all solution to the educational systems problems.  Many seem to view technology, and technology alone, as the solution to helping students score higher on standardized test.  Technology should be used because students will have to use it once they leave school; however, it must not be forgotten that the teacher is responsible for teaching, not the technology.

A possible pitfall of the integration of technology in every classroom is that some teachers may try to have the technology teach the class.  Teachers are still needed to help students along.  I know that throughout my college career, I have had a few professors who used power points to teach the class.  The power point slides would be available for purchase at the bookstore so that students would not have to write anything down.  At first this sounded great, but under further review it does not work.  The reason is that during the class the professor would simply read word for word off of the slide.  The question you then have to ask: Is this professor still teaching?

Relying on technology too much is a problem that many of us have.  What happens to the teacher who relies so much on technology that they forget how to teach without it?  Technology should be used in the classroom, but only in a supporting role.  School systems have already seen teachers who use videos to teach their classes.  Similar to computers, videos can play an important supportive role; however, relying solely on videos to teach is just plain ridiculous and lazy.

Education is founded in the idea that there is interaction between a student and a teacher.  I am all for using whatever resources available, especially those that can help a person perform their job better.  My only concern is when people start to overuse and rely solely on these resources that they will forget what it means to be a teacher.  It is said that the great teachers inspire, ask yourself: when is the last time that any form of technology inspired you?  Teachers should inspire their students to want to learn more and I just think that technology cannot accomplish this task.

During my student teaching experience, my use of technology was limited to using the overhead and the VCR.  It is my hope to be able to digitalize all the primary source overheads that I created this semester so that they can be projected using a computer.  I still like the overhead, but in my future classroom I will probably use power point.  However, I will use power point in the same fashion that I used the overhead: to give an outline of the days activities.  My goal is to use technology only as a resource in the classroom, not as an educator.  My advice for using technology is to proceed with caution.

 It is my belief that technology, when used properly, can be a great asset to the social studies classroom.  Since I do not know where I will be teaching in the future, it is hard to say how I will incorporate technology in the classroom. Furthermore, I do not know what type of technology my future school will have.  I know for sure that I will take what I have learned during my student teaching and aiding experiences and incorporate ideas from both into my classroom.  If technology is available, I would like to use it as much as possible, as long as it is helping the students.