Reflection Week 1

I believe that technology plays an important role in the learning process of students in the 21st century. It enables us to expand their minds as educators and for us to take our students to places that we would not be able to physically take them, like virtual field trips or to see, speak or write to people from other countries. It gives us the ability to differentiate in the classroom to make learning more accessible to our students of multiple intelligence's. As a teaching tool, technology allows teachers to tap into the interests of our students and motivate them to learn in a creative and multimodal ways.
Both articles are passionate about the use of technology in the classroom. Of Luddites, Learning and Life, by Neil Postman, believes that technology does not address the “fundamental problems” we have in educating our children. Rather that technology diverts “the intelligence and energy of talented people from addressing the issues we need most to confront.” He further goes on in the article to explain that these “issues” that must be confronted deal with “social and moral nature” issues and that schools and teachers are the solution to those problems that children face. I agree with Postman to a point. I believe that technology must be put into place to establish our youth in the world. We live in a world that must look to the future in order to succeed. The future is technology. More and more push has been to educate children in math and science. These fields seem to be taking a decided turn towards utilizing technology and coming up with new uses for technology to solve problems. As educators it is our responsibility to push our students towards what will make them successful in life. But I feel that the basics need not be taught with the aid of technology. Children need the socialization that schools provide for them. They need to be able to problem solve with other children. They also need to be able to do basic math, spelling and grammar with out the aid of technology.
Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology Transformation by Reigeluth and Joseph, make a case that technology could “result in a quantum improvement in learning.” They want to look beyond just the mere “integration of technology” and moves towards a full on “transformation” of technology in the classroom, where the teacher becomes a facilitator in a students learning rather than a direct instructor to the students learning. I do believe that technology will play an integral role in the learning-focused paradigm that the authors of the article talk about, but I still hold to a point that Postman brings up in his article about how schools are not just here to teach content, but to teach social and moral behavior. Children need to interact, especially at young ages, with each other to learn to share, and work cooperatively together face to face. That said, I do believe that once that has been established, more individual and self-actualized learning can occur best with the aid of technology.
I like the way that Reigeluth and Joseph break down the principles for a learning focused paradigm. Every point that they bring up in this table is valid and in order to be effective as an educator we must strive for. In a country right now where we can have anywhere from 20-35 students in a classroom at a given time, with a variety of intelligences that we must tap into and work with, technology certainly offers up a solution to that problem. Our students by nature of their upbringing in this time in history are drawn to multimedia genres. The goal of a teacher is to have every one of our students reach their full potential. We need to make sure that we are teaching to our 21st century students with what they are comfortable with, technology.
I feel that technology is a key piece to the puzzle of educating our children. It is just that though, a part to a whole and not the whole answer.