Will Technology Take Over?

        I have spent much time analyzing and applying new technology in the classroom in my teaching career, thus far. However, the whiteboards, laptops, and tablets are just the beginning of the technology that will be integrated into my classroom throughout my future lessons. New and innovative technology tools are being developed daily. The likelihood that these new innovative tools will be useful for our students is high and we will want to teach our students to utilize the tools to improve their learning. I remember during my student teaching, we had an LCD projector and thought we had won the lottery. Now, I have an ActivBoard and cannot imagine not having this resource for my teaching. Times change and new opportunities arise. We have to embrace change and innovation if we are going to prepare our students. In our society today, technology is an vital part of our classroom and teaching. It is also an essential part of our students’ futures and their lives outside of school. As I’ve said before, I feel like technology is a true asset if used in the proper manner. There has to be a balance of hands-on lessons, as well. I’m sure that there are some teachers who “overuse” the technology tools they have just because they are available. I am not going to eliminate a project from my curriculum just because it does not revolve around technology. I may, however, find a technology resource to enhance the lesson if it is beneficial. The opportunity for new innovative lessons and improvements should be taken as it is presented, but teachers have to create a sense of balance in their classrooms.


         I may be naïve, but as an art teacher, I feel like all the technology in the world could never take the place of me in my classroom. I feel the same way about drawing applications on tablets. They are really neat and useful, but they will NEVER take the place of drawing with crayons, pencils, markers, oil pastels, charcoal, etc. Painting is irreplaceable as an art form, as is sculpture. We have many applications and web 2.0 tools available now, and many more to come, but none of them will take the place of creating art with our hands. Students producing creative artwork and having a teacher helping hands-on is priceless. As long as there are projects, experiments, dissections, and so much more, teachers will be needed in the classroom. Online learning may work for some subjects and people, but kids need human interaction and social environments in order to truly develop and I just don’t see the schools environment being eliminated entirely. Our role may change to just guiding learning and leading students in their own projects as opposed to standing up front lecturing. I feel like the role of educators in the 21st century has already changed and we are giving our students more ownership and responsibility for their learning. I love that education is leaning in this direction. I’m excited to see what the children of today will be doing with all of this freedom and innovation when they make it out of high school and college. We are training students to be successful and problem solve and I really feel like we are preparing them for what they may encounter later and we are promoting ground-breaking ideas. New emerging technologies like cloud computing, gesture based computing, mobile and tablet learning, game based learning, and learning analytics will likely be integrated into our classrooms in the next few years and we will need to accept the changes and learn from them as we go. We are teaching our students to problem solve and use critical thinking skills and I feel like it is only fair that we, as teachers, do the same. Education has come a long way from the one room school house of yesterday and it is sure to go much further. We have to embrace the opportunities and use them to benefit our students the best we can!