Vision Statement
First with a whimper then with a bang - to paraphrase T.S. Eliot, technology has taken over our lives. It's a daunting idea to many, I'm sure. Eliot, in fact, spoke of the end of the world in his famous quotation; however, technology in the classroom has the potential to do more good than bad.
How many of us imagined ten years ago that our students - all of our students - could be young authors, movie producers, graphic designers, artists, and more while seated in their desks? Technology in the classroom opens the door for students to contribute their skill, intelligence, and creativity in different ways and present those ideas to authentic audiences. It eliminates the question of "Why?" from our classrooms and replaces it with "What else can I learn?" As teachers, how could we not want that for our students? How could we not be excited that students are learning to solve problems and think critically all the while collaborating and brainstorming with classmates about their ideas and performance? That's what educational technology does. It builds students up - their knowledge, their success, their future, and their confidence.
As an English teacher, many of my content area skills encourage "old world" practice - Instructivist strategies in which students sit passively, inactively working with material. Educational technology breaks that "sage on the stage" idea, pushing teachers to be facilitators and guides toward learning. EdTech's Constructivist nature puts the emphasis on students interacting with material, even developing material, and thereby, owning and understanding it.
Januszewski and Molenda (2008) define educational technology in their text, Educational Technology: A Definition with Commentary, as the "study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources." Their definition expresses an "out with the old, in the with the new" idea by incorporating and emphasizing words like "facilitating," "improving," "creating," and "using." This definition presents the goal for technology in my classroom - for technology to enhance learning and improve performance/understanding for students. EdTech's definition focuses little on the instructor because the instructor's role, while important, is no longer the only factor contributing to student success. Using technology as a tool, students can take the reins and forge their path toward greater understanding.
In my classroom, educational technology offers more solutions than problems. How do you break the monotony of reading, writing, diagramming, memorizing, and editing? We use technology to create and redefine our understandings by turning hand-written narratives into digital storybooks, by creating video logs and diaries as characters from our novel study, or by collecting media clips of our unit's vocabulary.
The role of educational technology in my classroom is simple. It enhances and differentiates learning by encouraging and exciting students to think critically, solve problems, reflect personal understanding/growth, and seek knowledge.
Januszewski, A., & Molenda, M. (2008). Educational technology: a definition with commentary. New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
How many of us imagined ten years ago that our students - all of our students - could be young authors, movie producers, graphic designers, artists, and more while seated in their desks? Technology in the classroom opens the door for students to contribute their skill, intelligence, and creativity in different ways and present those ideas to authentic audiences. It eliminates the question of "Why?" from our classrooms and replaces it with "What else can I learn?" As teachers, how could we not want that for our students? How could we not be excited that students are learning to solve problems and think critically all the while collaborating and brainstorming with classmates about their ideas and performance? That's what educational technology does. It builds students up - their knowledge, their success, their future, and their confidence.
As an English teacher, many of my content area skills encourage "old world" practice - Instructivist strategies in which students sit passively, inactively working with material. Educational technology breaks that "sage on the stage" idea, pushing teachers to be facilitators and guides toward learning. EdTech's Constructivist nature puts the emphasis on students interacting with material, even developing material, and thereby, owning and understanding it.
Januszewski and Molenda (2008) define educational technology in their text, Educational Technology: A Definition with Commentary, as the "study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources." Their definition expresses an "out with the old, in the with the new" idea by incorporating and emphasizing words like "facilitating," "improving," "creating," and "using." This definition presents the goal for technology in my classroom - for technology to enhance learning and improve performance/understanding for students. EdTech's definition focuses little on the instructor because the instructor's role, while important, is no longer the only factor contributing to student success. Using technology as a tool, students can take the reins and forge their path toward greater understanding.
In my classroom, educational technology offers more solutions than problems. How do you break the monotony of reading, writing, diagramming, memorizing, and editing? We use technology to create and redefine our understandings by turning hand-written narratives into digital storybooks, by creating video logs and diaries as characters from our novel study, or by collecting media clips of our unit's vocabulary.
The role of educational technology in my classroom is simple. It enhances and differentiates learning by encouraging and exciting students to think critically, solve problems, reflect personal understanding/growth, and seek knowledge.
Januszewski, A., & Molenda, M. (2008). Educational technology: a definition with commentary. New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.