My Technological History

As far as my technological history goes, I know how to use a computer in the most general sense (Internet, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, online shopping) but I lack any special, computer savvy skills. I was introduced to the computer at the age of ten when my father bought a Dell home for Christmas. The whole family, with the exception of my mother, was in awe. My sister and I were addicted. We would spend hours, days on the computer, mostly playing The Sims. Thankfully, however, we've met with our SA group (Sims Anonymous) numerous times and have limited our Sims playtime to a strict minimum.

As we all know, technology has made significant advancements in the past twelve years. The haunting squeal of dial-up ceases to exist and the computer monitor is totally out of fashion. I believe technology is an amazing resource. I couldn't imagine writing any sort of document without one and I am easily able to connect with friends and family that I do not see years at a time. I rarely get lost driving anywhere, I can call anyone at the tap of a screen, and it is faster and easier to organize presentations. I do, however, feel that we are becoming too reliant on technology. When Hurricane Sandy ripped through the tri-state area just last year, for example, people were freaking out because they were without any sort of technology for days at a time. People who found themselves simply without electricity did not know what to do with themselves and found the idea of reading by candlelight absolutely repulsive (I, of course, felt otherwise).

In terms of education, I believe technology must be better integrated into classrooms in order to really impact student learning. Technology integration, according to the Stratford Board of Education, is when classroom teachers use technology to introduce, reinforce, extend, enrich, assess, and remediate student mastery of curricular targets. Until this point, the most technologically integrated I thought a classroom could get was PowerPoint presentations and YouTube clips. The use of digital documents, Friends and Flags, graphic design, and GenYES, as discussed in the article "Four Takes on Technology," are brilliant examples of successfully impacting student learning through the integration of technology into classrooms. If properly planned, these resources are certain to engage students and enhance their understanding of curricular points far more effectively than classrooms that are technologically segregated.

What I really enjoyed about the video clip "Learning to Change- Changing to Learn" is the acknowledgement that the educational system must change with society. The "vending machine" answers standardized tests ask students for are no longer applicable in this society. One of the speakers in the video claims that society and our educational system should no longer be about memorization, as any sort of information we could possibly need is literally at the tips of our fingers, but about searchability, and "finding, validating, synthesizing, leveraging, communicating, collaborating" information.  Another speaker claims that our society is desperately in need of a different model of education, one where work demands the use of a wide range of skills: artistic ability, synthesis, context, teamwork, multidisciplinary, multilingual, multicultural. 

This article and video clip have begun to alter my feelings about technology because I never truly understood the concept of technology integration simply due to the fact that I have never been properly exposed to it before. Any sort of technology that was ever used in any of my classrooms as a student have either been really blase or have failed to work. I am starting to be persuaded that technology can be quite effective in classroom settings, however, I still do not believe that it should be at the center of every unit and/or lesson.

"Four Takes on Technology":
http://imoberg.com/files/Four_Takes_on_Technology_Allen_S.M._Dutt-Doner_K.M._Eini_K._Frederick_R._Chuang_H._Thompson_A._.pdf

"Learning to Change- Changing to Learn":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tahTKdEUAPk