As I was compiling the information for my first
interactivity, I became very interested in how others view technology in the
classroom. As a result I conducted a little bit of research and came across an
interesting study conducted by ECAR last year describing the relationship undergraduate
students have with technology. The link to the study and its results can be
found here:
http://www.educause.edu/studentsAndTechnologyInfographic
http://www.educause.edu/studentsAndTechnologyInfographic
The study found that the majority of college undergrads
valued the use of technology at their respective colleges/universities and prefer
a mix of online components and lecture. The
article also shows how more and more instructors are beginning to use various
types of devices and media in the classroom to enhance content. This being
said, it is interesting to note the statistic that states that “More than 1 in
2 students (51%) think they know more about how to use technology than their professors”
(Educause). This particular statistic reminded me of Olivia’s video when
teachers expected students to not be capable of using various devices or media.
Here, I think it is important to translate the basic principles of this study
to secondary education students in order to better tailor technological lessons
to their needs. As future teachers, we must not quickly judge students on their
abilities because they probably know more about certain things than we do. Instead
it is important to assess their abilities first and then adapt.
Here I would like to invite everyone to think of all the
ways this article may apply to our future students and to us as future teachers.
I feel that from the article I am now more likely to have students provide a list of frequently used technologies at the beginning of the school year. This way I will be able to learn about technologies that I may have never heard of and do some research as to how they can be modified to serve in an Italian classroom. Using this article we can see the ways in which different people use different technological
aspects when it comes to learning and use what we have learned to create better
lessons and assessments.
Works Cited
"ECAR National Study of Undergraduate Students and
Information Technology, 2011—Infographic | EDUCAUSE." What Is EDUCAUSE?
| EDUCAUSE. Web. 08 Feb. 2012. .
I was truly inspired by that teacher's words in the video. It's probable those kids in the class will know more than us, and we won't even know it. Technology is so universal that it's entirely probable that 1 in 2 students will know more, even if the teacher is as young and technologically adept as we are and will be. We have to consider the big probability for this: WE ARE TECHNOLOGICALLY OLD! We use the internet and computers for singular purposes, really. We don't interact with it the way new users will, and we won't integrate new process into our habits because we've been using computers forever, and it's easier not to adapt if you don't have to. I've been using the arrow keys and the scroll wheel to navigate websites for just about ever, but then one day a kid told me you could just hit the spacebar. The spacebar. The biggest button and most convenient button does what other keys do, but better because it's bigger and it actually scrolls faster and farther than the other methods. We're veteran users of technology, and even though it's a big part of our lives, we're definitely less likely to know about new features and new capabilities because we won't look for them. What we know is fine, it works, and we think it's fine, because it works. But that doesn't make us more technologically literate than the new generations.
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