The following summary is intended to capture the essence of our various conversations we have had with our fellow practitioners in the field. Web 2.0 Technology is our focus, and so we must look to see how we are all engaging our classrooms here and far through technology and practice. Read on to see what ties us all together: Rena’s conversation in Thailand, Rachel’s guest’s focus in community college, Torri’s trek into the wild, and my discourse with Justin on best practices.
(An audio recording of the below response)
What does technology do for us in teaching? Well, quite a lot, frankly. From Scantron equipment to pencil sharpeners, school PA systems to tables with wheels and power, iPads to projectors, technology does a lot for teachers already. Today, though, the question is moving away from “Should we use technology?” to “How much technology and in what contexts should we use it?” For instance, Rena’s interviewee Graham speaks to the point that even though technology is not 100% reliable for them, they use it. Rachel’s interviewee calls teachers to try tech even if, or especially if, it does not work. Torri’s interviewee Lucy remarks on her research as a way to bring people into nature by using tech. My interview with Justin revealed that relationships are a key component to technology integration.
Each of these examples speaks to a greater, unifying idea behind technology: it is here to make things easier. For each of our interviewees, the anecdotes show that the ease comes in a number of ways. For Rena, technology makes it easier to connect the learners at times. For Rachel, technology eliminates the time burden on communication. For Torri, the learning environment loses all boundaries. For me, relationships are bolstered through the use of technology.
What we really see come together here is that each of these professionals has experienced the benefit of technology to maximize time and space in the learning process. Rachel’s interviewee aptly focused on the point that now “learning is continuous” and that learners are going beyond the confines of the semester to learn from and in community with their professors. Technology has opened the door of the classroom right into the world. Torri’s samples show how technology can bring even the most disengaged learners into the world to see it with new eyes. Here it doesn’t matter when the learners come to see the wildlife; technology will help them to identify and analyze it. With the best tech, people could cover much more space in the wilderness and learn all the more with tech to guide them through the experience. These are just small samples of how technology is integrating into our everyday to make us all the more connected to our learning experiences by impacting time and space.
The Final Frontiers.
WVHI
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