M to the left E G A N

Monday, April 7, 2008

The Classroom in 5 Years

To be honest, I haven't a clue of how the classroom will look in five years. It seems to me that the education world is changing daily and more and more technology is being brought it. I know for sure that Smart Boards will become a common thing- and I guess that they already have (for schools that can afford them that is). You hear people talking about creating schools where the lesson is broad casted through some sort of media device so students can access it from any location. I hope that this does not happen. I think the student to teacher interaction is still really important. Technology is a great tool, but I do not believe that it should replace the teacher completely.
As a teacher, I think it would be great to have all of the fun technology tools that are available. I love programs like Kidspiration and tools like the SmartBoard. There are so many great resources for teachers and for students on the Internet- and it would be so great to have a computer for every student. Again, I still strongly believe that students should be able to survive without help from technology. However, the direction we are headed in appears to be one that relies fully or mostly on technology. My fear is, what if it all fails? There will always be malfunctions and we need to have the skills to be able to function without our computers or cell phones or the like. What kind of teachers would we be if we did not prepare our students for real life?

1 comment:

alisonselin said...

Megan,

I totally agree with you. I took 2 online classes recently and failed them both. I can't communicate with a computer! I need that teacher-student interaction in order to learn successfully. I know that some people love online classes, but they just do NOT work for me. I certainly hope that technology will not replace teachers. How sad that would be. Humans are designed to be in community with one another, not alone in an empty room with nothing but a computer.

-Ali