I Don’t Teach Technology
Ok – I’ve been trying to avoid the technology stuff on this site as much as possible, because that’s not what I’m all about. It’s what I’m best known for – but it’s only the tip of the iceberg of what I use in my classroom. A very large tip perhaps, but just the tip.
Like most teachers I teach my students, not the curriculum. I teach people, not technology. I mean technology is just a tool. A pencil is a piece of technology. One we use all the time, but you don’t hear a kindergarten teacher say I teach the pencil, and when they’re ready I’m going to teach the eraser! It’s just a tool to help students master the world around them. To interact with those near and far and to make their mark on the world.
I tell my students I teach because I want to live to be 300. I figure that’s a great age. To reach my goal I need people who will make huge advancements in medical science, who will make sure the food I eat is safe, those who can build a home that won’t fall on my head, and make sure the economy runs smoothly so I can afford to buy a new car every once and a while, and people to make sure the world is a peaceful place for my family and I. That’s not much to ask is it?
So I have to make sure my students are prepared to take on those roles so I can reach my goal. I don’t teach technology – I teach people.
While attending Edmonton’s Teachers’ Convention I heard someone speak of this great article entitled I don’t teach technology. So I copied down the link and I read it. I really liked it. It summed up a lot of what I was feeling. I often get labeled as the technology teacher, and when I start to talk about some new gadget or piece of software, I more often as not get ignored. After all it’s the tech guy’s job to drool over anything that makes a beeping noise right? So I’ve taken a new tactic. I have some “non tech” friend who actually listen to me. I tell them about my discoveries. They try them and see that they’re actually useful, and then they tell the other teachers. Some how this makes it less frightening. I don’t understand it, but if it gets the tools that will help our students achieve, and help me reach my goal of reaching 300 then I’m going to do it.
I hope you write posts like this until you’re 300, Mr. G.
I sometime smile (and sometimes gnash my teeth) when I read/hear about supposed research which shows that a specific piece of technology does not improve learning or student achievement. For example, something came down the pipe a few weeks ago about interactive whiteboards and the lack of effectiveness. In fact, I wasn’t a huge fan of them myself until this year where I saw the learning and communication it offered to teachers using it in videoconferencing and interactive whiteboards which were connected across sites with desktop collaboration software. It brought a much greater sense of ‘virtual presence’ to the learning environment when each site who connected together through VC could all write on the same whiteboard or access and manipulate the same learning resources. Now I know that when I return to the classroom I want an interactive whiteboard irrespective of whether I use VC or not. In other words, I became a believer in this technology when I saw the possibilities of how it could be used to enhance my students’ learning.
Another example – with wireless tablet PCs, I wondered if these were actually worthwhile tools or whether they were just big, expensive PDAs. Once I realized that I could use it in my classroom with my online report card program and make observations/assessments directly into the report card from where my students were demonstrating their learning in the room, I became a believer.
I wonder if enough people understand the potential that technology can have on the learning environment? Why can’t everyone see what we see? Personally, I think it has something to do with a person’s beliefs about learning and teaching which drive their practice, combined with peoples’ awareness of the potential for technology. What should go hand in hand with technology mentorship for teachers should also be demonstrations and applications of technology as it relates to the research on learning and the brain.