Is it possible that technological advances are hindering our lives? When my mom calls and leaves long messages I sometimes respond with a quick text message... because it's easier. Rather than call people or meet up with people we "shoot them quick emails" or write on their facebook walls. Perhaps these advances are limiting our ability to form real relationships.
I can't help but wonder if technological advances detract from our teaching. If we spend our time coming up with lectures and classroom exercises that bring out all the bells and whistles of technology do we in some ways take away from the material? When teaching a class on gender and work do I really need to incorporate technology into my discussion and presentation of emotional labor? Maybe trying to bring technology into my classroom would actually be more confusing to the topic. It's hard enough to bring students around to the idea that gender roles are not innate... which is just the beginning for a discussion of emotional labor.
This leads me to my next pondering: is it only appropriate to use technology for some topics in the classroom? Are there some discussions that lend themselves to power points, clickers, online communities, etc. in ways that others do not? How do we know when would be the best time to use technology and when is the best time to sit in a circle with the class and chat?
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Your point is well-taken. I definitely think technology can either negatively or positively impact learning (or other aspects of our lives, for that matter). The most appropriate focus seems to be how to use technology effectively - how to recognize when it enhances learning. Just as important as knowing when it enhances learning is knowing when it doesnt.
ReplyDeleteTo your point about social networking, technology could similarly distract individuals from the subject matter. I view technology as supplementary, not as a means of replacement. There is no replacement for an in-class, face to face, open discussion of a stimulating topic. If that process is interrupted by technology that doesnt effectively contribute, it doesnt serve its purpose to advance understanding or stimulate thinking - it just gets in the way.
We can determine when technology is most useful through self-evaluating and initiating feedback from our students. Hopefully some teacher intuition will guide us, as well!
I often wonder about the same issues- especially as other teachers try new technologies and I am tempted to follow suit. For example, the idea of a facebook-based online class discussion... the professor that did this said she got great comments, but something about forcing students onto facebook and tying it to class concerns me.
ReplyDeleteI hope that I will be able to make the right decisions through teacher intuition also, but I agree that it is very difficult. For example, could clickers help with teaching a large lecture class? Would I be able to use them well enough and often enough to make it worth asking the students to purchase a ~$50 tool? Additionally, everyone complains about powerpoint in a class that big, so how could you tie that technology into the class without making it seem like just another time waster?