Technology- where are we headed?

        Technology is something that I have a love hate relationship with.  I love all that it can do and when it works I am thrilled.  I hate that it often causes me frustration because it doesn't work when I want it to work.  I am only a few weeks into my technology in the classroom course and my feelings toward technology are already changing.  The more I learn about all technology can do to aid the teacher in the classroom, the more excited I get to start implementing it.  It seems that often the initial output is a lot of work, such as making digital lesson plans in smart notebook, yet once done they can be used and reused with greater efficiency. 

Wordle of my personal view of technology

            In Education, technology can be a huge asset in the classroom.  With the click of a mouse a teacher can reach out to thousands of other educators for ideas, support, experiments and hints for the classroom.  Simple things from art lessons, lesson ideas, curriculum helps to how to deal with parents and administration all can be a huge help to me as a teacher.  Also for the students there are hundreds of websites, pictures and videos that can engage them and enrich their learning.  Students are familiar with technology and it is a huge part of their home life, so teaching them using what they already know is a powerful tool in the classroom.     As a future educator, it excites me to see all that is available to help me be the best teacher I can be.  Technology is an excellent way for both students and teachers to learn from what thousands of others have learned or are learning and build from existing knowledge. 

            I love blogging and reading blogs.  I have been reading and publishing a blog since 2009.  I started blogging as a way for me to journal my and my family's journey through life.  I then publish the books so that we have all our memories for a keepsake.  I have a large group of friends that also blog so it is a wonderful way for me to keep up with them and their families.  I have always used blogs for crafting, gardening and quilting ideas.  Blogs have enriched my personal life and given me a voice to share and capture priceless moments.  As a teacher, I can see that a blog will be a great way to share ideas about things that work in my classroom , projects and pictures to help give back to the education community.  I am sure that I will use a blog in my class when I am a teacher and share what we are doing with parents, administration and fellow educators. 

            One concern about technology in the classroom is the lack of funding to get proper, updated technology.  Often, in the public school system, we are running with old computers, software and few personal devices such as tablets.  This is a problem that can be met by allowing students to use their own devices.  The article tech- briefing; BYOD discusses both the benefits of students bringing their own devices and the concerns that teachers have. 

            On the plus side, students know their own devices so there is not a learning curve for them to figure out the device they are to use.  On the flip side, teachers are going to have to be well versed on many different systems so that they can help the students and give proper instructions on steps they need to take.  I know that in my experience in schools often children, even at a young age, have the most modern technology being used.  I am constantly surprised by how many children in grade one have iPads and iPhones and know how to use them better than me.  School systems usually do not have the funding to keep on the cutting edge of technology, so by using student’s devices, schools can have access to modern devices.

 After reading the article BYOD, I have to wonder about families that are not tech savvy, can’t afford to buy their children the required device or are using old technology.  Schools do not want to encourage an even wider gap between students of different economic standing, so can equality be assured?  Also, schools have to consider if all 500 students bring their own devices to class, how will they handle the increased network traffic?  Schools have to ensure sufficient capacity and bandwidth to support the devices being used.  When using technology, faster access is demanded.  Nothing is more frustrating than waiting forever for a website to load with a slow internet connection. 

Another benefit of using student’s devices is that instead of spending money on hardware, administration can instead spend it on software and high end tech programs that are not found on most devices. Every student with an iPad and cell phone could create a huge distraction to the classroom without policies and rules about their use.  There will have to be policies in place to ensure that teachers still have control over the use of their personal devices, what can be used and what should be avoided.  Money will also need to be put aside for teacher PD.  Teachers need to feel prepared for this shift in their classroom and be trained well in available technology.  Not all teachers are tech savvy and many will have fears and frustrations toward allowing personal devices in the classroom, so training is vital for this to work.

With increased technology use in the classroom and students using the internet there is also a concern for their safety.  The internet is full of amazing websites but it is also filled with pornography, inappropriate sites, social media which can lead to cyber bulling, identity theft and creepy people.  All of these things are a factor in why schools ban personal devices, block websites and have strict control of content available.   In the article tech-briefing – digital citizenship these concerns are addressed.  Digital citizenship is about teaching students respect for themselves and personal responsibility.  Yes, at home and at school we can shelter our children from the big bad internet by blocking any questionable sites, but the concern is whether our children have learned from this or once they are somewhere without blocks, will they seek it out because they haven’t been properly taught?

Inspire Education is where the future of our teaching and curriculum is headed.  The goal of Inspiring Education is to help students become ethical citizens and engaged thinkers.  We need to consider that instead of blocking these websites and not allowing students access to their personal devices we as educators need to do just that, educate!  We need to teach students about the dangers that are found on the internet, empower each student to respect themselves and to use technology responsibly.  As a parent, I agree and disagree with this concept.  I agree that children need to be taught about technology and the dangers there are in using it.  I think personal responsibility is key to helping each child to respect themselves.  Yet for myself, there is a big BUT here.  Where is the line?  My daughter had many friends that would watch R rated movies at a young age, play video games that were mature and had parents that didn't think the same way as me and allowed their children to do things I would never allow my daughter to do.  Some look at pornography as not harmful or think violence is okay.  The rules in my own home regarding the use of technology were much stricter than others.  I still feel I taught my daughter to respect herself and to be responsible but as a child, it was also my responsibility to monitor what sites she used, to check text messages often and to make sure the cell phone and iPad were not in her room late at night.  

In my opinion, in order for this to work as far as BYOD and digital citizenship, rules and policies need to be firmly in place and all teachers and administrators need to be on the same page.  I agree that teaching students respect and responsibility is of utmost importance but I am leery about free and open access to all websites.  I also wonder about conflict over their personal device.  I am sure when it isn’t being used correctly and teachers need to step in and take away the device for a time, the issue of it being their personal property will be brought up, often, by both students and parents.  I am shocked now by what parents allow in their homes.  Many times I have had kindergarten children tell me about a movie they watched over the weekend that I would never watch myself because of its content and parents let a 5 year old watch it!  Also, video games played or talk of zombies and killing games is shocking.

 The future of technology and access in the classroom may force teachers to walk on a tight rope, balancing precariously as we try teach them what is good content and content they should avoid and parents may not have the same belief.  The speed that technology is changing will make it so that teachers will have to be constantly educating themselves so they are on the cutting edge and aware of the newest program or device.  This will be more work but I believe that technology as a whole, despite some of my personal concerns, will be a huge benefit to my future classroom and the students learning.  As new policies are made and things like BYOD introduced, there will be growing pains as sometimes change is difficult and stretches us in uncomfortable ways.  In the end, I am excited for the digital possibilities and what will come in my teaching career!