Remember when computers were the talked about technology? It is so crazy to think about how far technology has brought us and what we have access to these days. From the iphone, ipad, laptops and smart boards, there is no escaping technology in the classroom. But is the use of this technology really helping our students? Is it benefiting the way we teach, or is just becoming a distraction for our students? Some schools even assign ipads for each student and they work on them, take notes, and even do math on these ipads all day at school.
In a seventh grade class in Arizona, students were to create a Facebook page for certain characters in Shakespeare (Richtel 2011). Does creating a Facebook page help students, or does it open a door for distraction to roam the net? Some believe that all the use of technology is engaging and motivates children. It’s crazy to think that these students know how to use technology so much better than the teachers sometimes. That could also be a negative factor in the use of technology. Will students feel frustrated when their teachers do not know how to operate certain equipment? I remember I was at dinner one time and saw a baby working and playing with an iphone. I was shocked that the baby could figure out how to use it, when my 50 year old mom can’t even figure out the on button. What is it going to be like when our grandkids are in school? Are they even going to know what a pen and paper is? Will they have notebooks, textbooks or papers? Or will everything be on the computer?
Even at the college level almost everything is done online. A lot of my readings and tests are online. This opens up a good question about online tests. Can we really trust our students to take an online test without cheating or using a partner? All the grades are posted online as well. This is a great feature because it is so accessible.
A great feature that students are given are class webpages. On these webpages you can find all of your readings, assignments and calendar for the whole semester. This can make students feel more comfortable and organized to know that all of the things they need or want to know about their class is at the touch of a few keys on the keyboard.
Will you as a teacher incorporate a lot of technology into your? It’s something I ask myself often. Do I even feel comfortable or confident in my abilities to use this type of technology? I feel that it may cause distraction when I can’t figure out how to use certain things and will cause frustration which then will have the class behind. But at the same time these children have to know how to use these types of things and will have to use technology once they get older. Technology has taken over. At work, at school, at home, it’s everywhere and you are forced to use it anywhere you go. Just going to the store and checking out on the credit card machine creates frustration for the older generation…will that be me in the classroom teaching my students?
There is a great website that can aide and guide you to use technology in the classroom. http://www.teachability.com/community/mobile?view=discussions&gclid=CI6Yt6__zLICFWaoPAodJXIAlg
I think what every teacher has to keep in mind is, we are doing all of this for our students, therefore even if we may not like the use of technology it really is needed in some aspects.
By: Katherine Mantz
Richtel, Matt. “GRADING THE DIGITAL SCHOOL; In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Sept. 2011. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html?pagewanted=all>.
The Apple of my Eye 
Technology is a really controversial topic and especially, due to the distractions that it brings to students. Yes, technology makes everything, from taking exams to checking grades, faster but is it safe. Even though student say that they will not cheat whenever taking an exam online, the door is left open. I enjoyed your post and especially because it gave the perspective of real life students and teacher.