R/D1

Teaching using solely technology would be a downfall of education, but teaching with technology is purposeful. I agree with the Reigeluth and Joseph essay that a transformation needs to occur. I think this is true because of technology. Adults and children are used to getting things quickly in today's society. It only takes a push of a button to do so many things that not so long ago took time to figure out. As technology changes so does human behavior. My niece is three years old and picked up an old rotary phone of my mom's. She did not know how to use this, but she does not how to answer a call on iphone. This shows that we must transform our teaching, we need to stay current to what students know before they even come to school. What skills are they really going to need to know? A touchscreen is much more likely to be a part of their future than dials.

I also agree that depending on what you are learning will depend on what technology you use. I teach third grade so a lot of the technological skills I teach are simple tasks such as typing, learning spacing, and learning how to go to a specific website. I teach these tasks while in the computer lab, but in the classroom I use technology to teach other skills. For example, I use the interactive whiteboard daily. This is helpful to me because I can save my lessons from year to year. Also, students are much more likely to stay focused if they have opportunities to come up to the whiteboard. When I teach using the interactive whiteboard the skills are spelling, grammar, vocabulary, math facts, geometry, and so on. It is helpful to me to be able to show a powerpoint for vocabulary that shows a picture of their new word along with the definition. Students are able to experience things they would otherwise not have the opportunity to see. A lot of the students I teach come from poverty and do not know what exists beyond their community. I am able to show them what a barn looks like because of technology. This is simple, but would otherwise just be something they'd hear about if not for technology. Now they can see a video, photographs, and even manipulate objects on an interactive whiteboard to learn more. Technology draws students attention much easier than pencil/paper tasks.

My worries align with the article by Postman. I find my job difficult often due to students not knowing "how to behave in groups". Students come to me not knowing that when someone does something you don't like yelling at them isn't most beneficial. They need to know appropriate responses. Students need to learn some things through experiences made by interacting with others. I teach a lesson weekly (in third grade) about how to behave around other people, how to calm down when you're mad, and how to solve problems dealing with others.

I can use technology to teach ideas, but I have not mastered using technology to help in social situations. Students in my class use computers daily and I have to teach them ettiquette. For instance, I teach the students that when they have headphones on they need to take them off before asking a neighbor for help or else they will yell. I think these are skills that need to be learned in a technological age, although I must agree that students need to learn how to behave in society. Students must know how to share, take turns, be fair, etc. I don't think technology will prepare students for this. I think there must be a balance of both using technology to teach and learning how to behave in society.