Final Views on Technology

The greatest importance in teaching technology to any age group is that technology is in every aspect of the western world from music to writing and even entertainment.  Small business cannot survive anymore without technology integration and that is why this needs to be a factor with any age that we encounter in life. It is co nstant battle but most people in the end want to commit to a lifetime of learning and this is a different stage to tackle.

 

 

 

 

 

Being a teacher for 14 years now my stance on the barriers of technology will always remain the same as they did in 2000: there is simply not enough access to the materials that the students would need.  Schools do a great job in keeping the technology up to date but there will always continue to be an issue because of constant competition to use the computer labs. But this is how the students have been trained to think since they were young.

 

When I think about why we need this and why learning through technology is essential falls into the understanding that the brains of our youth are wire differently.  They are what most experts will say as being “digital natives”.  Their brains respond and think differently than we do.  There will always be a push to stress the creativity and innovation but I also feel that this is more than possible to co-exist with technology integration.  That is the main point that I would take away from this class.  When a student in brought up being digital, we are doing a disservice when we teach them in a way that is not. their native language.

 

One factor that has come into my teaching over the last four years that has helped in growth is to understand that the Good Old Days are over.  What we knew does not always apply and our teaching tactics need to be innovative and live in the 21^st Century.  However, many of the decisions makers and voters do no need to make decisions on this concept and can live in the past.  This will always continue to be a serious issue in terms of technology integration.  It involves money that only dwindles every year but if helps a students learn, it will be money well spent.

 

Last, in my own teaching I have learned a lot about effective technology integration.  I realize that where I teach, there is a lot done on basic computer programs but there is not always enough done that will go beyond the research.  We do spend a great deal of time in working with proper digital citizenship and creating effective digital portfolios that will follow the students.  However, this really did not benefit my students in general music.  The goals of teaching for my future will involve being able to have the students create their own blogs for music history.  I would love to be able to have them use their web quests for more projects.  This is one way that my teaching can adapt to what needs to take place for 21^st Century learning.