My Educational Technology Philosophy
As a Prospective educator, I believe that the incorporation of
technology into the classroom curriculum is vital if students are to
thrive in this society of computers and gadgets. We are living in a
digital age therefore the onus is on us as educators to tailor and
personalize the learning activities, to address students’ diverse
learning styles, working strategies, and abilities by means of digital
tools and resources. Simply put we have to prepare students for a
technology dominated future- a future where without this knowledge they
may not be prepared to compete for future jobs.
Technology is integrated into every part of our lives and has become a
part of our human experience. It plays a significant role in our
shopping experiences, our transportation, our health care system, in our
schools, in our banking transactions and also in our homes.
Technology is not stagnant, it’s dynamic. For that reason I believe that
as an educator, I should continually inform myself about new technology
so my students may benefit from my knowledge. Hence, I ensure that as a
teacher my educational philosophy is flexible to adapt to the changes
which will benefit to my students.
The infusion of technology will allow for collaboration among students
which will foster a learning network and allow for students to express
their own ideas and thoughts among themselves while constructing
knowledge. This is supporting the theory of Jerome Bruner. With
technology students will not only become lifelong learners but
innovative thinkers, great problem solvers and it will also enable
students to adapt to changes. Technology is the ideal tool to empower
students to create and take ownership of their learning.
Digital native
Digital native was one of the term coined Marc Prensky. From my understanding digital native
Is an individual who was born in the digital world and uses technology
as a way to converse, store information, educate, and understand
society.” Digital Natives speak the language of technology and are as
comfortable with technology as past generations have been with pen and
paper. “Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no
longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.”(Marc
Prensky, 2001). Educators who are of the pre-digital age (digital
immigrant) are now struggling to teach a generation who speaks an
entirely new language. Being exposed to technology in early years is
believed to give digital natives a greater familiarity and a wider
understanding of technology than people who were born before it was
prevalent in society. Therefore for digital immigrant to keep up they
have to now play "catch up" to meet students at their level.
Technology and Policies
According to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_policy "Education Policy is
the principle and government policy-making in educational sphere, as
well as the collection of laws and rules that govern the operation of
education systems." It is the responsibility of the Ministry of
Education to develop new educational policies for Educational
institutions at all levels, in order to maintain certain standards, but
in fairness the education system do have its advantages and
disadvantages which influences education system. One of the education
policy in Jamaica states that all students within a particular age group
must attend school. Yet still we see children under the age of 18 who
did not complete primary or never made it high school.
The education police seek to answer questions about the purpose of
education, the objectives (societal and personal) that it is designed to
attain, the methods for attaining them and the tools for measuring
their success or failure. Yet still they provide teachers with limited
equipments and resources and in return they expect mastery from all
students. I believe that the policies governing the education system
requires too much and not much is provided to ensure the success of
these implementations.
Technology Integration in the Classroom
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_integration
Technology Integration is the use of technology tools in general
content areas in education in order to allow students to apply computer
and technology skills to learning and problem-solving.
Integrating technology into classroom means more than teaching basic
computer skills and software programs in a separate computer class.
Integration of Technology allows the tables to be turned. Instead of
constantly spoon feeding students with knowledge the teacher can give
assignments that require them to learn the necessary material
themselves. With technology students have the ability to get the
information they need any time anywhere, without being in the physical
presence of a teacher. Technology can be used to enhance the learning
process for example teachers can use technology to introduce, reinforce,
extend, enrich, assess, and remediate student mastery of curricular
targets.
Integrating Technology can produce a much greater depth of
understanding of a concept when used in a classroom setting they can go
far beyond chalk and talk. Each student is, of course, different but
Information technologies can permit them to break step with the class
and go at a pace and order that suits that student better. Without
disrupting the class, they can repeat difficult lessons and explore what
they find interesting.
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