Digital literacy in the classroom helps the students learn by allowing them to become the creator of texts instead of being the receiver of texts. The only problem that we see in integrating technology into the classroom is that there will not only be resistance to the idea of it, but also the fact that teachers may not be able to keep up with the ever-advancing technology that we see.
An explanation from the text of this is that some teachers may not want to "give up" their position of teacher in order for the students to teach them technology. Ideally, being able to step back and learn with the classroom should be a rewarding process that helps build the confidence of the students and also creates a productive learning environment. It does not matter if we do not know how to implement digital literacies into our classrooms, because the whole idea of bringing the internet into the classroom is for everyone to learn. It expands our reach as teachers as well in a way that we can communicate with teachers all across the country that need help or have figured out the ways of implementing digital literacy practices into the critical literacies that we teach. It's called the world wide web for a reason, we need to use those connections to help us as educators. We need to get rid of the idea that we are supposed to be the "experts" in educating the students and be open to new ways that work. Teachers are used to communicating with there department, so why not expand the departments to include as many schools in as many states as possible.
The ways that we use technology in the classroom need to be helpful. Using technology for the sake of using technology does not help students in any way according to the research cited in the text. If we as educators are using I-Pads to go to a pdf that the students write on and that's all they do, then it doesn't help them any more than just writing with a paper and pencil. We need to use the facets of the internet to our advantage like how Nygard in the text used Blogs similar to the ones used in this class in order to increase the classes' "sense of community, [...] motivat[ion], and, perhaps most importantly, saw blogging in class as a serious and meaningful technology of thought" (TTAT pg. 9). There are plentiful means of using technology in order to increase the overall digital literacy as well as make it meaningful to the classroom lessons. We've already shown in this class how we can use blogs as a way of assessing student understanding of the texts as well as comments in order to give a voice to students that, in the classroom, would otherwise not speak. Technology allows for the classroom to be extended to everyone and allows for disenfranchised students to succeed in ways that go past just the written word. Students can use technology to speak their thoughts verbally through recordings, scripturally through drawings or writings, and makes the learning experience overall less one dimensional and gives options as to the ways of assessing understanding.
ReplyDeleteHi there!
I liked this post about the purpose of technology in the classroom. Growing up we had blackboards in our classroom, I remember using the blackboard was my favorite part of the class. It wasn't my favorite because we got to use technology but we were able to draw and express ourselves on the blackboard. It was a new way for students to express themselves and it made readings a lot more clear because my teacher was able to highlight the big words instead of writing it on the board. I definitely agree that technology does let students express their creativity!
Thank you for the appreciation in your response. I definitely think that technology needs to be used in the classrooms like in yours so that students can make sense of the texts in ways that their brains naturally understand. As for myself I learn a majority of things in my life visually, and being told I had to read for information was not at all fun or helpful to the way I learn. Technology such as this would have helped me learn a lot faster in the classroom.
DeleteAnthony, I really like when you say "It's called the world wide web for a reason, we need to use those connections to help us as educators." There is so much information out there, and this idea that we are considered "experts" is quite ridiculous. There are always new strategies, lessons, and ideas to learn! These connections would help us as educators, they offer "chances for students and teachers to become designers" (TTAT, 2013). If we continue to hear that technology is "our future," then why don't we want to incorporate these technological advancements in our classroom? It only offers more growth and engagement for students. Students can move away from being the "consumer" of technology, they can move towards being the "designers," offering their own ideas to the world wide web.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you say and quote. It also takes the students who we are supposed to prepare for the future and telling them that they need to use outdated technology. This is completely counter-intuitive towards our goal. If we want to prepare kids for the future we need to prepare them with the latest technology and give them ways to learn the new technology instead of creating a tech-barrier that is hard to overcome later in life.
DeleteThanks for your post! This stood out to me: "Ideally, being able to step back and learn with the classroom should be a rewarding process that helps build the confidence of the students and also creates a productive learning environment." I completely agree with you. In my ED 210 (or 200?) class, I remember learning about how real education is about collaboration between teachers and students, where students play a role in their learning rather than the teacher being a rigid conveyor of information. Technology really gives students an opportunity to engage in this more rewarding form of learning and, if financially-feasible, should be something that schools and teachers should embrace. After all, if it gives students more of an opportunity to learn, shouldn't this be a focus of ours as teachers, rather than distancing ourselves from the idea of it because it is different? Obviously, this would only work if technology is used in the right way such as blogs, not just entering student names into a PDF, as you've said. If technology can be used the right way, it definitely has a place in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteYou're right to say that it's needed in the classroom, but financially feasible should not be a concern. The ends truly justify the means in these cases. Taking technology such as I-Pads and putting them in the education of a school should not be that difficult of a task. Companies are jumping at the opportunity to give students their products. Why? Because it's putting a familiarity towards a brand in the minds of impressionable youth. Apple donated computers to thousands of elementary schools in the late 90s to early 2000s and now we see apple as a staple that will never go away. Companies are eager to follow that model and make it big.
DeleteAfter reading, I can say that the text does give a great argument in favor of technology. I still disagree with technology in the classroom. The argument of teachers not wanting to give up their position as teacher doesn't apply to me because I am young enough to know how to use technology, I think bringing in technology creates too big of an opening to allow students to become distracted. You can make the argument that it is the students choice, but lets be serious, you give 15 year old high-schoolars I-pads, and they are going to be on Instagram and what-not. The choice should not even be there for them.
ReplyDeleteI can agree that it may be problematic, but in this day and age I think it would be incredibly difficult for you to find a good school to teach at that doesn't use some sort of "distracting" form of technology. Even if you made everything paper, the students are just going to find ways to text and go on their phones behind your back or even right in front of your face. I guess if I have to pick and choose my battles, for me personally this isn't one I would fight.
DeleteThank you for your post this week. I agree with a lot of what you said. Using technology in the classroom must be done in a beneficial way to the students' education. Technology does provide a handful of opportunities and great ways for students to get involved in their education, especially the aspect of letting students control their own education. Despite this, I have been in classrooms where students have taken advantage of technology use so regulating that is important.
ReplyDeleteI agree, regulating it would come easily with us not using technology for the sake of using technology. Taking notes can still be done on paper and pencil, but we can go into technology to further their education and make it more meaningful.
DeleteThis was a really meaningful post for me to read. I can see how teachers may see letting students teach them technological skills as giving up some authority. However, I think that type of mindset is really harmful. As future educators, we will not be simply disseminators of knowledge, we will also have a lot to learn from our students. Furthermore, I think that letting students teach us about what they know and are interested in is a great way to boost engagement in the classroom and make the learning feel more authentic
ReplyDeleteIt also helps the kids feel like the things they know and learn about actually have a place in the classroom. When I was in high school, knowing computers and technology didn't feel helpful at all to my education because all we ever used our I-Pads for was taking notes on Noteability when we could have done the same exact thing on paper. If I was able to help my teachers with technology and its use in the classroom I would have definitely felt my knowledge was helpful.
DeleteThank you for your post. Digital literacy in the classroom has become a common phenomenon as the technology develops today, however, it might still be a controversial issue. I think the argument may mainly arise from educators have not formed a model or standard of how to use the technology effectively in the classroom, which may cause them to question the functions and necessity of using technology in the classroom. I think digital literacy in the classroom opens a new gate of education by breaking the traditional educational approach, which is a huge challenge for both teachers and students. If teachers are willing to catch the development of technology and learn and research how to bring technology into the classroom by different methods to meet their goals of curriculum, teaching will be more effective. Furthermore, a new student-centered classroom or teacher-student cooperative relationship might be created.
ReplyDeleteI thought you put together a great post. I agree that technology can be an incredible boon for education, but I think there is a lot of caveats with this claim. I think I disagree in part with your identification of the problem with technology. I do not feel that the entirety of the problem should be placed on teachers when things don't work well. Technology packages (chromebooks, software suits, etc...) are not always constructed well or are prohibitively expensive (e.g. Pearson's Mastering Biology is something in the range of $150 per student! For a highschool of 2,000 that require all students to take Biology that may not be feasible, and even then there are ongoing costs and technology and software failures, and the benefit of that one particular suite may not be as strong as first claimed and competing solutions may be available but are also focused primarily on generating their own profit). Each new education business and software maker will always in the end be trying to maximize their own sales and never producing a perfect product for all teachers over all schools. Many teachers have expressed contempt for the latest technology claim in response to poor performances of the previous ones they had to go through. Many times it is wise for teachers to focus on the consistent and reliable forms of educating students because technology can unfortunately be a poor value for our limited resources a lot of the time.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your point about what can we do if, as educators, we are not able to keep up with ever changing technology? How can we be the best teachers for our students when what we have to teach them is constantly changing and evolving? In my special education class, we talked about the importance of professional development, but what if we can't afford it and our districts do not provide it? There are other ways to get professional development at a reasonable price. We need to remember that there are always was to stay up to date on the newest pedagogies, and while it isn't always easy, it is always worth it.
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