Hello! My name is Michelle Zamora (Ortega, if I ever get around to changing that). I'm currently a senior at my university. I hope Spring 2013 will be my last semester, but hiccups happen. I am in an English Subject Matter program; I had aspirations in becoming an English teacher but I'm currently having serious reservations concerning that. In any event, I love reading and I love working with kids (so far) although I've had very limited experience. But I digress! Throughout my educational career, I've noticed that media has played an increasingly important role in the classroom. With the current advances in technology, it's almost impossible to not have it involved in the learning process. I am not tech savvy. I prefer good ol' paper and pen when drafting essays before I translate it into a word document. Even when I feel especially creative, I always reach for the tools with which I first learned to write. I did not grow up with a computer and find that its been difficult for me to adapt. But with kids these days, its almost unnatural for them to not have some sort of electrical device.
I'm honestly conflicted with this fact. On the one hand, not everyone learns the same way which makes it essential to have a variety of learning opportunities at a teacher's disposal. Technology is predominant in almost any job field, so it makes sense to have computers, etc. be second nature to the coming generations. Technology is becoming more and more reliable, but I find that when it doesn't work, the world stops until it is up and running again. In a speech course I took, my professor used Youtube to show the class examples of speeches for us to imitate. The occasional power point would find its way on the projector, which I was usually so wrapped up in reading that I didn't always hear what the professor was saying (and if I think its important to have a copy of it, then I'm busy scribbling it all down). But when these weren't working, then my professors would spend a significant amount of time trying to get it running, cutting time out from our learning process. Problems have become more slim over the years, but I guess I'm not a visual learner. I prefer conversation, lecture to having visual stimuli. But that's just me.
In my speech class, we had to make PowerPoints for our speeches, which proved to be a bit of a challenge because it’s hard to figure out what exactly you need to show your audience without averting their attention from what you’re saying. I think a PowerPoint presentation full of relevant images and/or one that highlights or summarizes the most important ideas can be a great accompaniment to any lecture if used properly. Sadly, I find it's more often to encounter the professor that puts too much text into the slides and expects you to copy down everything while listening to lecture at the same time. One cool thing I've seen is the professor sends out the PowerPoint before lecturing on it. This gives you an idea of what the professor is going to cover and if you print out the presentation you have an outline to take notes on.
ReplyDeleteI understand how you feel about teaching. I decided to not go further and get my credential as well, but rather go into a graduate program next semester. I also relate to your reservations about using technology in the class room. If not done correctly, it would be a disaster. I wish we could trust every student would put their heart into their work, but this just isn't the case. Secondary teaching would run into even more issues with technology. When hormones are raging, I totally get that it is hard for a 16 year old to focus on class. My mind was focused on girls completely at this time. I didn't think about my school work in high school. I honestly screwed around quite a bit. But, I do feel that if teachers could engage their students with the use of technology, they might be able to cool down the fires of teenage hormonal inbalances and grasp their attention. Yet they would have to stay away from just doing things through projection. Even if technology is used in the classroom, nothing engages a human being more than direct conversation.
ReplyDeleteYou make some great points Michelle, I have had so many classes where if a video or powerpoint didn't work, we would waste "precious" class time trying to avail the problem. This issue happened today: the professor wanted to show a video clip to supplement his argument but Youtube decided not to work on his computer. And what does everybody do in this situation? Text and probe over our own technology, trying to stimulate our brains our the professor sorted out the issue (it's not like people don't do this already...).
ReplyDeleteAnd although I do share some reservations with my tech, I'm not one to disregard it (what kind of person do we call that, a hypocrite?). Although it has only been maybe 8 or 9 years ago since I was punching keys on our old Windows 98, Pentium 1, little old machine, while trying to get AOL to work, the computer has become an instrumental part of my existence. It's unfortunate that I depend on it to exist, but that's how technology and culture works, right? When something is convenient, I feel like it's human nature to gravitate towards it. But like any other drug, as long as it's not an obsession, and used in moderation, I think this technology can become an instrumental and great educational tool for future generations.