Technology and Education: Your Thoughts?

Elizabeth, are we missing the rest of your comment?

Come pay me a visit :)
Leading from the Heart ( http://leadingfromtheheart.org )
Camping Out with Tracy & Jack ( http://campingout.tracyrosen.com ) 

Elizabeth

@texasebeth ( http://twitter.com/texasebeth )  and My Life, such as it is.... ( http://texasebeth.blogspot.com )

Help me understand what you mean by technology being a crutch. I never looked at it that way before.

Come pay me a visit :)
Leading from the Heart ( http://leadingfromtheheart.org )
Camping Out with Tracy & Jack ( http://campingout.tracyrosen.com ) 

As a homeschooler I believe technology can be a tremendously helpful tool, but like Texasebeth said it can also be a crutch.

There are so many ways to use technology that often a subject or topic that's just 'not working' for a child can be re-enforced or presented differently with success.

The challenge, I guess, is to find the perfect balance. :-)

Thanks for your comment melwright25!

You wrote:
"This is the future. We can embrace it and encourage our children to do the same so that they stay ahead of the game, or we can shun it and watch our children fall behind."

It is not only the future, it is now, in particular it is how children live.

However, I don't believe in the argument that our children will fall behind if we don't use technology. Do you mean in our classrooms? Because learning happens everywhere, not just in classrooms!

Digital technologies are tools for learning. I use them amongst other tools to help develop greater understanding of critical thinking and collaborative working skills in my students.

While I use a lot of different technologies when I teach, I am not part of the 'technology or die' camp of educators :)

Come pay me a visit :)
Leading from the Heart ( http://leadingfromtheheart.org )
Camping Out with Tracy & Jack ( http://campingout.tracyrosen.com ) 

I was raised with computers, encouraged to keep up with technology and went to school for a Multimedia Design diploma (tip to future designers: don't do Multimedia Design - specialize. You'll thank me later). I may or may not be rather biased toward the use of technology in the classroom.

I think technology is important and it can be very, very useful in educating others. It can really empower those who learn better by *doing* as opposed to *listening* - games are a great learning tool! - and, in general, we can use technology to better cater to students with different learning styles.

This is the future. We can embrace it and encourage our children to do the same so that they stay ahead of the game, or we can shun it and watch our children fall behind.

Touch-screen technology can be used to help children practice their writing without using paper, too... ;)

Thanks for the comment texasbeth!

What do you think of the idea that 'the basics' these days can be enhanced through technology? I'm not sure if it's about one thing (reading, writing, or math) or another (technology) but how they can or can't work together to enance learning.

Like Victoria said, technology definitely has it's place in the classroom, especially in middle/junior high and high school.

Elementary schools need tech but much more limited scale. Kids need to learn the basics firsts without technology.

Technology can be a crutch as well as a tool.

Elizabeth

@texasebeth ( http://twitter.com/texasebeth )  and My Life, such as it is.... ( http://texasebeth.blogspot.com )

I agree with the teacher... at times :)

And I agree with you... at times :)

There are times when we just want to focus on getting the ideas out there. It isn't those times we should worry about printing, so that's when it's good to just type things out. Especially when the act of printing may just be getting in the way of what the child is trying to communicate with his writing.

But then there are times where I'd like to promote pride of craftsmanship and that's when I'd focus on writing as a mechanical skill.

"Today's topic - self-construction."

"...this is an opportunity for you to rise to your highest self. There it is." KRS-One

I believe technology has it's place in the classroom. However, my son is left-handed and needs to practise his printing and writing. I was irked when his grade 2 teacher told me he could just write-up his school work on the computer because his printing was messy. I would rather he learned how to print and write clearly...