Yesterday I watched a room of teachers receiving their iPad
Minis and having their first experiences with Apple technology. It was like
watching a bunch of 8-year-old children staring at a calculus problem. They
couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were doing, and needed handholding
through ever little step along the way.
Moments like this always fascinate me. People whose entire
existences are dedicated to instructing others and encouraging vast exploration
of the unknown are struggling through their own learning experiences and
throwing their hands up in frustration as they simply cannot figure out what
they’re supposed to do.
Yet, I know these are amazing educators, and some of them
have been doing this successfully since I was a baby. I might know more
technology than they know, but they are far better teachers than I am. And they
struggle every day trying to find a reason to learn a new way of doing what
they’re already doing so well. Sometimes they succeed; often they don’t.
And this really gets to the heart of what I believe I am
doing with my vast explorations of educational technology. The key word is
integration. What I believe integration means is utilizing technology in
authentic ways to take what we already do so well and bring it to the next
level. Sometimes the technology is simply placed into the classroom just to be
there. This is pointless. Sometimes the technology actually takes us a few
steps backwards. If we’re trying to get our kids to think deeper, but the tech
savvy teacher wants to use fancy online quizzing programs that only grade
multiple choice questions, technology is harming the educational experience.
When a poster would do just fine, but the students stare blankly for ten
minutes as their teacher tries to set something up, the technology is damaging
to our goals.
But when used intelligently and authentically, technology
can take our classrooms into realms never before imagined. I think when
exploring any new technology the teacher needs to always ask these questions: Why
am I learning this? Is it worth my time learning this? Will this enhance the
learning in my classroom? What is my real motivation for incorporating this
into my classroom?
I have learned so many different things over the past few
years. God willing I will learn so many more. I just hope and pray that I always
have the strength to ensure at all times that the technology I explore is ONLY
in my classroom for the right reasons.
