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Further to Greg Whitby’s (Davies, 2012) view on the use of technology in schools, it seems to me that the best path lies somewhere in the middle. As posited in the ‘Economics of Education Review’ article (Comi, Argentin, Gui, Origo & Pagani, 2017), the use of technology in education is more about how the teaching is facilitated, rather than shoe-horning the technology to fit the required outcome. Training teachers (Comi et.al., 2017) equips them to use the technology when they identify a need based on the characteristics of the topic. While teachers no longer hold all the knowledge (Edutopia, 2012), we cannot expect students to automatically know what to do just because they are often younger than the teachers (Smith 2013). Facilitation and collaboration is the key. References
CNN (Producer). (2012, March 12). Silicon Valley school with no computers [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUxLKik3zNA Comi, S. L., Argentin, G., Gui, M., Origo, F., Pagani, L. (2017). Is it the way they use it? Teachers, ICT and student achievement. Economics of Education Review, 56, 24-39. Davies, A. (2012, August 19). 21st Century Education. Future Tense [Audio Podcast]. A. Funnell, ABC Radio National (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved from https://abcmedia.akamaized.net/rn/podcast/2012/08/fte_20120819_1130.mp3 Edutopia (Producer). (2012, March 14). Singapore's 21st-Century Teaching Strategies [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_pIK7ghGw4 Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. Smith, J. (2013). Beneath the 'Digital Native' myth: Understanding young Australians' online time use. The Australian and New Zealand journal of sociology, 49(1), 97. doi:10.1177/1440783311434856 Voogt J., K. G., Cox M.J., Knezek D. & ten Brummelhuis A. (2011). Under which conditions does ICT have a positive effect on teaching and learning? A call to action. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning.
2 Comments
Marnie Peters
25/1/2019 01:40:13 pm
Hi Karen, I could not agree with you more. The need to use technology as a facilitation tool to further the learning experience is critical. With all of the new technology coming out teachers often get caught up with the need to use technology rather than thinking about whether or not it adds to student learning. I also believe that teachers need more opportunities to learn new technologies to ensure that they know how to implement them in the most beneficial way for their students.
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Melanie
1/2/2019 08:56:36 pm
Hi Karen. I have found in my teaching scenario that there seems to be polar opinions in discussions around the use of technology in the classroom. I have teachers in my team who are whole against any sort of technology being used in the classroom and others who are all for technology integration. I think that somewhere in the middle is where we should aim to be – that technology enhances and supports learning in the classroom rather than replacing every learning experience with technology.
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About meI'm a learning designer from Geelong in Victoria. I have worked in vocational education and training for many years, and for the last four have concentrated entirely on creating learning content to support teachers and students. Archives
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