First things first, I would have to consider myself a “digital native” because when it comes to technology I would consider it to be somewhat of a second language. However, I am not actually involved with the latest ways to communicate with people; which, could be either by blogging, Google plus, or even Twitter because I would rather communicate with people face-to-face. On the other hand, I believe technology is shaping our society each day because if you look around you do not see people with books, pen and paper, or two people sitting down at a local café discussing business anymore, but you see the opposite. From that, studying to become a primary, elementary, grade teacher I need to keep up with the latest technology and apply it to my classroom, however, people would argue that technology is a positive fixation or negative one. As a result, I would like to focus my attention on the aspects of how technology can be positive or negative in the classroom environment. I would like to focus on the positive and shift to negative side.
In order to understand how technology can be a positive fixation one should look at some tools which are: online calendars (Google calendars), electronic drop box, and school website with individual teacher website page—personally I believe a teacher website is the biggest and crucial part of being a productive and thoughtfully teacher, but I will get into more detail about that later. Truly, I am a person who does not function well if I am not organized, so I think Google calendars is beneficial because as a future teacher I can utilize the calendar to place upcoming events like: field trips, parent-teacher conferences, homework assignments, and school wide events, so parents and myself know what is going on that week or month. Parents would truly appreciate an online calendar because they could up with events that are going on, or know when homework assignments are due. We all know the situation with homework! “Do you have homework tonight?” “No, my teacher did not assign any homework.” However, using Google calendar can show the parents what homework assignment is due and when. Being in college is great because being a student we have an online course page and on that page we have virtual drop box and I believe it is beneficial because I can submit a paper online and receive feedback on that paper instantly. Also, I do not have to worry about printing off a paper and giving to one of my professors or end up losing my paper some how. Lastly, as I mentioned earlier I am a big fan of the school websites with individual teacher website page because I can view a schedule of assignments, print off assignments, and keep up to date with assignments within that course. Therefore, when I become a teacher I want to keep my website updated as much as I can because I want to show my parents I care about their student(s) education. Why are these tools positive? The following tools are positive because they are teaching students to be responsible for the real world and start applying it now, so when it comes time for them to get a job they can be well prepared. Conversely, people believe technology has a negative aspect.
Technology can have a negative effect on students by: making them lazy, spending their quality time, and overall are students truly learning anything. When it comes to make students lazy, many people think about students looking up words on an online dictionary and assuming that is the correct definition, however it could not always be the cases. Another way technology can make students lazy is by projects. Furthermore, about projects students can easily find pictures, quotes, or have their parent or group work on the project alone. Today, you can look around and see almost everyone is on some sort of technological device like: a cell phone, iPad, or computer. As a result, students are spending their time on Facebook or Twitter instead of focusing on their homework, so when it comes to the deadline of homework or project students are staying up all night and creating unsatisfactory work because they did not research enough information to back up their proposal or whatever the project asks for. Lastly, the following statement is the biggest concern: are students truly learning anything. Additionally, many people would argue students are not learning basic skills because technology is shorting their motivation like: looking up an unknown word in a dictionary, complying information from textbooks, and not knowing the difference between true information and not true information. Personally, I believe students need to balance technology with physical material references because they know they are receiving correct information. In addition, as a teacher I need to be aware that some of my students might not be able to have access to a computer, or never want to do anything with technology, and many parents might become much irritated because they feel like they have to make sure their student(s) is turning in all their work, check up on upcoming assignments or events, and e-mail.
Overall, I mentioned the positive fixation and negative of technology in the classroom environment. Honestly, I would prefer to balance technology in my classroom because I do not think my future students can rely on receiving their information from the Internet, which can be altered by anyone. From that, I leave you with a question: Where do you stand on technology in the classroom, and do you believe it to be a positive or negative fixation?
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