The podcast and video both resonated with me in more than one way. Firstly, I agree wholeheartedly with Antony Funnell when he said early in the podcast that " in short, technology doesn't educate people, people educate people" (Davies, 2012). As a primary classroom teacher, I definitely do not want to hand over the reins of education to a device. I love teaching too much for that.
However, as a passionate user and believer in technology, I am still not going to use it in my classroom unless it achieves better learning outcomes for my students than more traditional methods. This opinion is seconded by Greg Whitby, who stated that "if we just focus on the technology we'll miss the main game, which is the learning and a contemporary learning in today's world".
When Punya Mishra talked about the 'Technocentric Frame', where technology is placed front and centre in education, and everything magically works around it. Technology cannot be the centre. Students and student learning must always be at the centre of our pedagogy (Mishra, 2013).
Another quote from Punya Mishra that resonated with me was that "only repurposing makes technology an educational technology" (Mishra, 2013). This is so true! There is so much technology out there that has not been designed specifically for education. However, creative educators are using all kinds of technology to improve student outcomes. As teachers have become trailblazers in this area, some technology has embraced education and adjusted to suit educators. Many Web.2 technologies have added or included 'edu' features to cater to the education market. This has helped educators enormously.
My takeaway? Start with the curriculum and the students. Then add the technology layer.
References:
Mishra, P. [Clases24H]. (2013, May 30). Punya Mishra Keynote Speaker @ 21st Century Learning Conference Hong Kong 2012 [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/4TtBubdpzxE
Laurie, I totally agree with you that people educate people and we shouldn’t be handing over the teaching to a device. I to do enjoy the teaching too much to ever let a device replace me and the job I am paid to do every day!
ReplyDeletePunya Mishra’s key note speech was very good and I had never heard of the term ‘repurposing’ technology. This is something I really to need to focus on in my classroom as we have technology available, but I’m sure I am not using it to its potential or coming up with alternative ways to use it to improve student outcomes. It seems to me we are always looking for something better when what we already have could provide us with the answer to improve student outcomes. It is a matter of being innovative and coming up with this answer!
Being innovative is the problem! With work and family and study, I am always so tired and it is hard to be innovative when you are just putting one foot in front of the other. That is why studying can actually help, as it is a fantastic way of communicating and collaborating with like-minded colleagues.
DeleteYes I am feeling your pain, sometimes you feel how much more do they expect us to do, is there a place that will give us the answers we are looking for!??
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