Carly Brault![]() Teachers are a great asset to have in the classrooms. They control the class; they have a lesson plan, educate youth, and sometimes create lifelong friendships with their students. Now a day though there are many different technologies used in each classroom each day: tablets, smartboards, laptops, computers, projector screens and so much more. However, is that a good thing or a bad thing? With all of this access here and literally in the palm of their students hands; what is the point of having the teacher stand in the front of the room? This past week I talked to 2 different teachers and discussed how technology has helped them, how it makes things worse, how they use it, what they use, and why they use it. I decided to interview a professor from Lakeland University who has been there for a few years and who does not always use technology, or new media, in his classes. The other interviewee was a student teacher who is just beginning to learn the ropes of teaching in a classroom and the different technologies and new medias they use compared to what professors use at Lakeland. Their responses were shocking. Donte Rowell blogged last week about Finland, and he discussed how in Finland they do not believe in technology in their classrooms. Charlie Krebs, a Communication professor at Lakeland University, disagrees with Finland; however, he does not depend on his technology. Charlie has been teaching at Lakeland for many years now and is not exactly, what you would say, “hip to the new stuff.” In class his students are constantly teaching him new things to say so he can fit in with the crowd and also helping him with technology when he cannot figure it out on his own, or just gets too frustrated he starts yelling at the computer and calling it stupid. Even though, Charlie has trouble with technology he believes that it does make learning more fun and easier for the students. He assumes that students are more willing to read and work harder with technology; whereas students who buy a hardcopy would not read fully even if they had it assigned to them. He is able to connect with his students but one question he asked me when interviewing him was “what is the ultimate goal of technology, and why are you using it?” We discussed for a few minutes that technology really is taking over the world without us even knowing it. For example, right now, do you even realize you are using technology as you read this blog? Do you realize you are using it when we scroll through Facebook 50 times a day? The initial question is why are we using it? Before we use technology think, do we really need it and what is that goal of using it? Just because it is brand new and it is, the “hip new thing” does not mean we have to use it. I then asked if he was able to teach his class without any technology and his response shocked me. “Without a doubt!” I do not need some computer to teach my class, without the computer it could cause more discussion, I would learn more, the students would learn more, but there would be no structure. I think it shocked me the most because I grew up with smartboards in every classroom I was in and using them daily. Coming to Lakeland and seeing blackboards was surprising to me. It turns out you do not always need the newest technology. We could easily get by using VHS tapes on a TV, printed handouts, and other materials we call “old technology.” Who would have thought, right? Charlie likes technology, thinks it helps connect students, and helps students learn more, however he does not need the technology. The other candidate however, stated that technology is almost a necessity in all of the classrooms now. Bailey Grayvold, a new upcoming elementary school teacher, thinks a little different from Charlie. Bailey is a student at Lakeland University who is in the process of student teaching. She is teaching a 3rd grade class and says that without the technology there would be no class. “Technology builds the structure and is so much easier to teach the younger generation with,” says Bailey. Some students claim themselves as visual learners, having these extra visual aids really help engage their learning. Smartboards are very effective in each classroom at all ages because they allow the students to come up to the front of the class, participate and show everyone how they got an answer. Everyone finds solutions in different ways and this can be very helpful to help students interact with one another and really focus on learning. When Bailey said this it brought me back to my middle school days when the teacher was teaching us all a new lesson in math, gave an example on the smartboard, and asked, “Who wants to come up and solve this problem?” Right away, everyone’s hand went up; not because they necessarily knew the answer, but this was allowing us to go and play on the smartboard. This allowed us to participate and use hands-on and visual learning to help solve problems. Everything Bailey said helps when she is teaching her class. However, even though she says she needs the technology to teach, she supports children reading hardcover books. “The motivation for reading for the older kids is no longer there, we need to keep trying to get them to read at a younger age,” says Bailey. Once students get old enough to use computers in classrooms, they lose focus and interest on the hardcover books and more on the technology and what the newest media is. Bailey does not want her students to lose the motivation to read. What had me shocked about these two interviews was that Charlie was able to teach a class without New Media, or in other words, the newest technology. However, there would be no structure; it would be a class full of just discussion on whatever the class wanted to talk about that day/ He believes students learn more from technology, but can also gather plenty of information without it. Bailey on the other hand, needs the technology. This is understandable considering the difference in age; Bailey grew up with the technology she is using, while Charlie is still learning to use some of his gadgets. Even though Bailey grew up with new media she never had it in her classroom, as a student, and now she is unable to teach without the new media. When we discuss about all the New Medias and new learning material that is being presented to students, and starting now at a very young age, is there any reason we need a teacher in the front of class. Everything a student is learning, they can search it and find the information they need online all on their own. With the access to these New Medias, children and younger students are learning how to do things before their parents even know how. When looking at all of the New Media and all the access students have, it seems teachers are slowly being replaced and in a few years who is there to say we will have educators anymore.? Every answer to any question is all at our fingertips. I challenge you to ask your teachers/ professors if they feel that at times they are not needed in the classroom because we have all the information we need.
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