Technology and Education

During my observation of middle school classes last semester, I had the opportunity to see how technology is used in 2009. Prior to this field observation, it had been a long time since I had ventured into a K-12 school. In one of the classes I observed, the teacher spent almost 10 minutes of precious class time trying to re-arrange furniture so that his Smart Board would project for all students to see. In another classroom, students were so excited that today was the day that they were going to use laptops. I was surprised by the excitement that students demonstrated towards the laptops, but then again this was a CPS school in a low-income neighborhood in which most of the families do not have computers at home. I wonder what the reaction would be if I was in a wealthy neighborhood observing students that have numerous computers in their household.

As a future math teacher, I understand the importance and value of technology in the classroom. And I desire to use technology that will allow me to reach my students and increase their excitement for a subject that is often thought of with so much negativity and fear. On the other hand, I am also concerned about the overuse and inappropriate use of technology in the classroom. The challenge is to find the right balance that works to improve the skills of our students.