Exploring why it is important for a Teacher to know how Society and Technology interact, and how it affects my practices in my classroom.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Week2 Discussion Post by Scott W Tinney

Exploring why it is important for a Teacher to know how society and technology interact, and how it affects my practices in the classroom.

   It is important for a Teacher to know how society and technology interact, and to then translate this understanding and knowledge to our classroom.  Along the same lines, I think that Teachers need to “know” their audience, and there is little doubt that our students are highly influenced and affected by their society and by today’s technologies.   If we can include and incorporate these technologies into our teaching, especially the “essential” ones, like iPods, Droids, and Facebook, that our students are spending hours using every day, we can bring our lessons into their environment and comfort zone.

     I almost can’t believe that I’m now 43, and that approximately 25 years ago I graduated from high school, and there were no computers and I typed my term papers on a typewriter.  Next, I attended college at the first reported college that required purchasing a computer, my Apple IIc, a very heavy and limited green-screen calculator.  When I graduated with my BS of Engineering in 1993, there was no Internet that allowed different adjacent rooms to interact, especially if the systems and hardware were different.  Jumping to today, my 3 year old daughter thinks that Wow Wow Wubbsy is available at any time w/o any commercial interruptions, and my students have never had less than 237,000 answers to any question they have “re-searched” on Google. 

     In my Computer Technology I and II classrooms last year, I tried to constantly push the boundaries to be current and stay with the exponentially growing computer and technology boom.  Thanks to some of this technology, I could present my lessons in multiple formats, and allow my students to learn in the medium that they learn best.  The downside to this is that a former 2 page lesson plan, now translates to 20 web pages of content, full of working and meaningful links and properly formatted presentations.  It takes a lot of work and effort to integrate technology in the classroom.  Interestingly enough, K-12 education is not able to stay with the exponential growth of technology, both from a planning and budgeting perspective.  Just like kids know way more about computers than their parents, educators and the education system can’t keep up with this rapid change.  Businesses have always reacted faster than schools, because they are driven by the market directly and they must constantly change and adjust to make a profit.  Schools, on the other hand, can run in the red, and change is never rapid, and the trends and systems have to be tried, studied, and validated before a new method of teaching is allowed.  I am very lucky to be in a “specials” classroom, where I can try various technologies and change my lessons, without affecting my Regents test results.