Philosophy of Technology in the Classroom:
After a year of being a student in a remote learning environment, I quickly learned that our lives as students and as teachers had changed forever. Remote learning should time after time that there were amazing technology resources out there as well as engaging programs that help advance student learning instead of just distract it. It is an exciting time to becoming a teacher currently and there is so much to learn.
I think technology is important in today’s classroom for so many reasons. The first reason, the amount of information technology and the internet has is so unreal. You can look something up and have the answer in seconds. This is unlike anything in the past. So many questions are abled to be answered, leading to further questions, leading to overall further knowledge. Another reason, it increases engagement tremendously. Students can read textbooks and answer worksheets but if teachers are able to have an eTextbook that includes videos and audio, students will be taking away more information. As well as the activity after the read is more on the level of creation like creating their own presentation or a video response, students will be able to take away more. Last major reason, the students who need more support and assistance due to learning and/or physical disabilities have so much more support and assistive. There is so many programs out there that help with reading, as well as provide support by providing audio that go with the words. There are other kinds of technology that help with other disabilities too. For example, a device that is connected to a microphone that the teacher wears that is connected to the earpiece in the student’s ear so that they can hear all the directions and everything the teacher is saying, since the student is auditory impaired.
Technology makes learning more accessible by allowing everyone with the ability to access the same information if they have access to a device and WiFi. This is where a major issue of inequity is visible when it comes to having it more accessible to students. Depending on the area, some students have devices while in other areas other students do not. But overall, if the students all have access to both the device and WiFi, learning is so accessible. Students can connect to apps and programs that work on skills while engaging them in games. It also allows the students to continue learning outside of school and help build a different reputation of learning overall. In the end, people can learn everywhere and anytime.
I will teach digital citizenship for many reasons. First, growing up while I was a student, we did not have much education on online use and how to use technology like students are able to now. Technology has advanced tremendously since I was a child and there are far more dangers on the internet now more than ever. Which leads me into my second reason, with all the danger out there I want the students to be able to protect themselves and to understand the need for safety online. Students need to know what not to safe online as well to know where the information they are getting it from is safe and reliable. Lastly, I want the students to enjoy using technology and understand the benefits which means that with that they need to understand technology and how to use it effectively. Overall, I want to teach my students digital literacy, so they have a strong foundation and understanding of how to use technology safely and effectively.