✈️ Blog Post #1: Utilizing Tech in the Classroom
Hello everyone,
My name is Daniel Preciado and I am currently a senior at CSUN. I am an English Literature major with the goal of eventually getting my masters/teaching credential to teach secondary school English. I work at a private school in Pasadena, so I am lucky enough to already have some experience in the classroom and can say that it is definitely something I want to pursue career wise.
As far as incorporating technology into the classroom, I feel like it is extremely important to be ahead of the times and anticipate the fast/sudden growth of technology, therefore it’s best if technology is ingrained in classroom practices. As we see now, laptops and tablets have become an integral part of our modern learning environment (especially post-pandemic), and we are only going to see more of that with the younger generations as artificial intelligence and the like begin to gain better footing. I can say that, as someone who has worked with grades K-12 within the past 3 years, technology is already fully implemented into a lot of lesson plans—especially with elementary school. I’ve seen kindergarteners playing games on the IPads that teach them how to learn ABC’s, which has no doubt helped ease some of that learning process.
I hold the belief that this is for the better. When we take into account how young these children are gaining access to the internet, it’s important to teach them safe internet practices and how to identify unsafe environments on the web. Along with that, we can’t simply stop the growth of technology—we instead have to plan around it and utilize what we can from it.
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Hi Daniel. Sometimes when I look back at the classroom practices that were implemented a few years ago, I forget how unusual the amount of technology that is used today to teach is. It definitely seems normal to me now, aside from when there are certain tasks that have to be completed online that are rather difficult or obscure, mainly because I'm unfamiliar with the use of such programs. I attribute this in particular to the pandemic and the sudden switch we all had to make to online learning. Everything ended being submitted online through websites such as Schoology and Canvas, and while these websites existed before quarantine, the level of how much they were used varied across teachers and professors until we simply weren't physically in the classroom anymore. It seems strange to me now that I used to take worksheets home and write short argumentative papers in class that I'd then submit physically. It was time consuming, sure but it was simply normal for the time. Now that I've gotten used to the amount of assignments that I have to turn in online and the amount of work that needs to be done on a computer, it makes me acknowledge the growth an evolution of the use of technology in teaching and prompts me to agree with your point about keeping up with the changing of the times.
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Hi Daniel!
ReplyDeleteThe blog name is very fitting! I agree with your insight on technology implemented in the classroom. However, I think as much as we need it we also need to create a balance. Sometimes, it gets harder to apply a balance since most of our sources and plans come through technology and the use of media. I try to take into consideration that when students are not at school or in a classroom learning they are using technology and media a good amount. At times, not using technology or media gives students a break or as I like to call it reconnecting with nature or even touching grass! I use technology to teach the kids I tutor the ABC's and it does help but for example when it comes to writing it I believe tracing it on paper would be more beneficial. Overall, I agree that as times are changing and society is moving fast, as teachers, we really do need to implement the use technology and media in the classroom setting.
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