Technology Today's Classrooms

I came across this video today and I really liked it. I think it gives technology its righteous importance in and out of the classroom but it does not ignore its negative side effects. It includes the good, the bad and the ugly. Everything from increased participation and inclusion in the classroom to cyber bullying through social media and the techno-cheating. Over the past two decades classrooms have been transformed by the presence of computers and the Internet but what many people fail to realize is that computers are not a magical pill that will make every student learn. We still have many teachers in the classrooms that are not as well versed in technology as they should be, or that may not know how to best use the technological resources they do have to the best of its potential. Teachers are expected to use technology in the classrooms but few are even given proper training or workshops.
In the readings for interactivity #2 it was mentioned that the technology fever that came across the education field upon the invention of the television and the radio. Teachers were encouraged to use the devices in their classrooms (even if it was with no intrinsic educational value). The people making decisions about what would be present in the classroom were not teachers and had no idea how these devices could be used in a classroom.
I feel like nowadays we are all racing to see who has the latest technology, but don't really question to often what is being done with it in the classrooms. All the teachers in the video seemed expert at using all these devices and had very interesting applications going on. In all my years of education, I’ve never had a teacher use technology in a purposeful and unconventional way. I wonder what kind of impact that would have had in my learning. It also makes me think about what kind of technologies I can bring to the classroom that could benefit my students in a meaningful way.

Interactivity #2