Week 1- Technology in the Classroom: Or how educators learn to stop fearing change and learn to step out of the spotlight in the classroom.

Technology has been a source of contention in many classrooms for years. Should we let the students have their cell phones? Are they secretly texting their friends about Justin Bieber when they are supposed to be researching the Fall of the Byzantine Empire? Are laptops going to be too much of a distraction? Are we just encouraging them to NOT do their work? Will using technology help us develop more interesting lesson plans? Can I keep technology current? I barely know how to check my emails sometimes, how can I use a podcast? I can understand the concerns to a certain extent. But, for me, there is no question of whether or not technology should be used, and used often, in the classroom. It should be, end of discussion.

Children are learning at a young age to use computers and cell phones. My godsons at two could find apps on a cell phone. I would suddenly hear the Disney Junior app playing while we were in the car, "Yo ho, let's go." Technology is a tool that most children have readily available to them. They quickly learn to utilize it, and the opportunities are endless. As children get older, technology opens even more doors for them. Children want to learn. It is human nature. We want to know what we don't know. It kills us when we think we are not in on a secret. "Honey, do you think we should go get I-C-E C-R-E-A-M later with the kids?" How many times have children wondered what was being said and then decided it was in their best interest to learn to read and write. Because then they are going to be in on this ice cream eating plan and they can cast their vote in the yay section. Once children learn the basics, like how to spell "ice cream," technology can become a fantastic problem-solving tool.

"Let me quick see what my pal Pikachu is up to. Then maybe figure out where I can get a puppy!"

A lot less this......

.....and a lot more this

While children may love it, specifically in a classroom, technology can frighten the teachers. What can I actually teach them if they can just Google everything in the universe? It's true, technology is changing our role as teachers, but I think it is long overdue. Doctors don't use a saw to amputate a leg anymore, so why are we not evolving as well and why is it a huge point of contention? We will become facilitators of children's education.

Some people worry about children directing their own education, which would be the outcome of independent learning. But, that system does work. There is a educational philosophy called "unschooling" that has been growing in popularity within the United States over the last few years. It is similar to homeschooling but does not follow a strict curriculum, nor does it involve having a teacher-student dynamic between parent-child. In unschooling, the child directs their own education. The parents are there to facilitate that education: introducing them to ideas and connecting them with what the child is interested in. There are issues with unschooling in that it isn't always plausible for a family to undertake the method; it can be cost prohibitive and can do more harm than good if a parent isn't curious or well-educated their self. However, there are ways to utilize this philosophy in schools that could greatly benefit the wide range of learning styles embodied in a classroom of individuals. The Sudbury Valley School in Framingham, Massachusetts does just that: they facilitate the child's individual learning method and their desire to self-direct, while the child decides what they are interested in learning about specifically.

Obviously that is not something that can happen in a public school environment just yet, at least not to that extreme. But, independent learning is still an important part of modern education. It will change public schooling as we know it, but, I don't think that is a bad thing. It is becoming archaic. Public schools and our system of education here in the United States were developed so that each person had access to the same level of education and to ensure our progress as a country. But, that cannot happen if the people in charge of their education will not embrace progress themselves.

Technology can help us turn education into a democracy, not a dictatorship; as it is in many classrooms today. Learning is fluid, and each child is different. Technology helps us realize that, and utilize each child's strength. It gives EACH child an outlet. You have a shy child who fears speaking aloud in class? Technology can help them still have a voice in the community until they learn to become comfortable with the classroom, like with programs like Padlet. Technology can help students keep track of their homework, with teachers posting things on a personal website, or programs like Powerschool or Blackboard. The options are only limited by what humanity creates, and with the rate we are going, that seems endless.

So, education and educators need to adapt with today's world, like every other profession and professional. We need to stop arguing if technology is something that should be used in the classroom and just accept that it will be. Use tools that are there for us. We tell students that all the time, so, why are we not doing that ourselves in creating lesson plans? Why are we not ALWAYS encouraging students to play on their cell phones in class, to look things up as we learn. They need to engage in their education, or else there is not point in educating them. So what if sometimes they look up pictures of kittens and research a new video game that comes out? Why not even embrace those things that they like and make it part of their education?

FIERCE! Like learning!

I feel like we as educators need to realize that not everything we say is interesting to every student. We have to try to teach them the best we can, support them in what they love, and engage them in our classroom and the world around them. And don't take it as a personal insult when students say they are bored, or that something is stupid. Prove to them that they are wrong and make them want to learn what you are saying. We cannot do that if we do not embrace their realities, and technology is part of that.


*A special thank you to my good friend Kachi for helping me articulate the unschooling information.