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 21st
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 21st Century learning.
