Wednesday, March 10, 2010

For Week 7. Subject: TIM

The Technology Integration Matrix really changes my earlier opinion of a tech involved course. As a future teacher of English i didn't feel that a computer could be utilized in my classroom to the lengths demanded by say the state's Technology standards. Seeing a few of these examples helps me realize this would be a cross curriculum effort.

example: This example seems to model NETS for teachers standard 3.D. This means that a teacher in this lesson would be teaching students how to use digital tools to access and sort through information based on its relevance. It also incorporates 2A which means the teacher uses a lesson that uses digital tools and resources allow the students to learn.

As for my comfort level I would have to say i'm somewhere between adoption and adaptation. While I'm getting comfortable with technology i'm not so sure i want to be. The vast majority of us won't end up in a school with such a high level of computer integration. I wouldn't say I'm a throwback but my student will have to read a book, a physical bundle of papers with words printed in it. If i go to my old high school today i will probably see the same books my class read eight years ago. Unless i have students researching Lit Crit journal articles the rest of this seems rather far fetched.

3 comments:

  1. Sounds like you want to teach just the subject matter - high school juniors and seniors. Schooling is more than that. There will be students who, for one reason or another, have limitations learning. Technology plays a role in assisting students overcome barriers. Technology for the fun of it is the wrong approach - I will agree with everyone on that. However, best practices and sound instructional decisions demand that teachers have a variety of pedagogical tools at hand to tackle students of today and their needs. Keep in mind that this is just from my 19 years of experience with all kinds of leaners. When it comes to the basics of what students should know, I am the product of the Core Knowledge movement started at University of Virginia by E.D. Hirsh. And on the flip side - Carol Ann Tomlinson, who is famous for Differentiated Learning, brainwashed me also when I took courses with her. At the time, she was also heavy into gifted education.

    So yes, students need the basics - their brain is the hardware and what we teach them is the software. However, try to keep an open mind because sometimes, students need additional hardward to help apply the software.

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  2. I agree that it is important for students to read actual, tangible books, and I can appreciate the enduring relevance of classic literature. I know that some books that I read and enjoyed in school were books my parents also had to read. However, do you really think that it is a positive thing that the students at your high school are probably reading the exact same books eight years later? To me, this seems to signify a lack of progression..

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  3. Yes, the times are and will continue to change; liked we learned from watching Sir Robinson: we are teaching and preparing students for jobs we don't even know about yet. Since a majority of the students we will be teaching have had technology being exposed to them at an early age it would be a good idea to support what we teach them in the classroom and allow them to explore their knowledge about a particular topic using technology.

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