Teacher and TechnologyCourse Summary

EDUB 1990 Winter 2013

Dr. R Redekopp

So what's really important?

You as a learner/teacher

You as a teacher/performer

Tech as a helper to understanding - RWL

Tech as a gift to those who don't express themselves well in writing

Meta-Teach-Nition

What to do when there is nothing else to do:• Watch – especially people who are not like you

• Listen – especially to people who are not like you

• Learn - that others are different and you need to understand

It’s not about YOU

It is about:• Mainly your students and their learning• Making your work easier and/or more interesting

• In other words – pedagogy and policy• AND you don’t need to know everything!!

Your Turn

Tell 3 or 4 people near you:

• One or two of the things you seen in the lab or the presentations that you are most likely to use.

The Way We Were

One computer, many students

The Way We Are

One computer per student

The Way We Will be

Near Future – Many computers per student

How hard is this going to be?

• Very – if you need to know and control everything.

• Moderate – because you have to set some things up initially (web space, RWLs, collecting assignments, easing into new ways of marking, etc)

• Manageable - once you have used things a few times and make things work for you.

Terminology You Should Know

Terminology

For quick overviews try the 7 Things You Should Know series from Educause on • twitter, clickers, online editing, e-Readers, presentation tools …

Your Turn

Tell 3 or 4 people near you:

• Your current ‘tech’ comfort level compared to where you were. What have you tried this term?

•The next tech you would like to try

Why are we doing this?

If education is:

• Content/info• Socialization• Process (how to learn/direction of learning)• Safety (babysitting)

How does technology enhance these?

Why are we doing this?

• How do we sort the HYPE from the real goals?

• Where is the good research? What does it really say?

• What kinds of learning benefit?

• What does brain research say?

The Brain argument

• Left brain – logical, rational, analytical, look at parts

The Brain argument

• Left brain – logical, rational, analytical, look at parts

The content argument

• Facts, formulae, dates, computations, maps, timelines, body parts, recipes …

The content argument

• Facts, formulae, dates, computations, maps, timelines, body parts, recipes …

The ‘engagement’ argument

• Is it enough to just have cool tools? • Is engagement that simple?• What happened with TV, film, filmstrips, whiteboards, coloured chalk, laser discs ???

• Is infusion the answer? (Apologies to LwICT)

Your Turn

Tell 3 or 4 people near you:

•Are you more ‘right’ or ‘left’ brained

•How do you best remember things? Memory, paper, audio, apps, email?

So what are we really getting?

Consider the tech bias:• White, western, middle class, male, efficient, discrete parts, speed …

• Are the Amish right (fewer choices are better)? Where has this taken us?

• Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC Four

•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo

Your Turn

Tell 3 or 4 people near your biggest concerns/needs about technology and your classroom

And what comes with it?

• Cyber-bullying• Identity theft• Too much info• Bad info• Disconnectedness (while over connected)

But don’t be discouraged

There are some huge benefits to using technology - especially for those who don't fit into the system!

We need to consider the best ways to use and adopt these technologies – that’s where the fun lies.

We will need to give up some control – the info is now out there for all, just like Gutenberg opened up the Bible to the public (using a wine press!).