To
grasp some sort of understanding regarding the advancements of technology in the last few generations, I
interviewed my parents and uncle on the subject. The common thread among their
opinions regarding the issue centered around technology in the classroom and
its role in the educational process. Coming from a family with several careers
in educational fields, it was not a great surprise.
All of my interviewees were quick
to point out the vast difference in one’s ability to gather information today
as compared to the past. Specifically, for school related activities such as
research. They all mentioned the sometimes insurmountable task of obtaining
information on obscure topics simply from outdated encyclopedias or journals in
their school libraries. Now, however, we have access to online journal
databases, which give us nearly limitless potential in finding trustworthy
sources of information.
My mother, who is a kindergarten
teacher, was recently issued an iPad to help conduct lessons with her students.
She strongly believes that the iPad allows her students to learn relevant
technology skills and also provides for an alternative source of learning,
which six year olds sometimes need.
As technology continues to expand
and advance, I believe that it is both a great benefit and detriment to
students. On one hand, it enables students to learn important skills, however,
with the quick pace of technological advancement, those skills could be
irrelevant by the time they reach working age.
Bonnington, Christina. "iPad a solid education tool, study reports."
CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/23/tech/innovation/ipad-solid-education-tool/index.html.
I agree that it is certainly easier to find references and information about outdated and obscure things with the Internet, especially journal databases. However, I also believe that this ability to quickly access a sometimes innumerable amount of articles in one place has elevated our standards for "good" sources. This is certainly not a bad thing. But it can sometimes make finding the "good" information just as hard as it may have been in the past, at least subjectively. For example, in CWS las semester, we had to research a novel originally written in Japanese. There were a number of articles containing at least a mention of the novel, approximately 10. However, the class consensus seemed to be that it was really hard to find any reliable sources for the information we needed, while in the past when it was more difficult to find information, I would think that any source with any kind of information about such an obscure topic would be considered a gold mine for a research paper.
ReplyDeleteI think it's particularly interesting that your mother was given an iPad. I feel like a lot of people have talked about how technology is ruining or making huge differences in people's childhood these days. I am really surprised that they're trying to encourage this much technology at such a young age. I would think that they would instead be focused on more physical education rather than bringing in more ways for students to be sedentary! I agree with you that it is a great tool so that students can learn in different ways, but I also feel that students have been successfully passing kindergarten for years without iPads, and it makes me wonder how necessary they may have been.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is very interesting and brings up interesting points about technology in the classroom. I previously wrote about this topic in a blog also. I find it very interesting that your mom got an ipad. I really believe technology in the classroom is a great thing as long as it is used correctly to teach proper criteria. Many children are addicted to video games, so I think we should incorporate this into school work, such as making math problems into video games and using computer programs for learning. This concept could make learning fun for the children and make them want to learn.
ReplyDeleteI like that your interviewees pointed out the differences in schools in the past and in the present. We sometimes take for granted the technology we have in our classrooms today, seeing as they were not even present in past classrooms. Our IT class for example has a SmartBoard, something that wasn't even considered an option in classrooms when our parents were growing up. I think that technology in the classroom is a great thing, and yes it may become irrelevant, but for now it is teaching children in more modern ways.
ReplyDeleteI think you make some great points in your post. I feel that the internet has made research much easier because we are able to find an unlimited about of information on different topics in a matter of seconds. But the real problem that arises is how reliable that information is.
ReplyDeleteI think is it interesting how your mother uses her iPad when teaching. This can be beneficial to her students because they will learn how some of this new technology works. And even though technology is advancing at such a rapid rate, children might find it helpful to start learning about it now and might find this helpful when new technology comes out during their adulthood.