Click the title to view and listen to my summary of learning. I didn’t have time to squeeze it into my video, so just for fun… This is how technology has teachers feeling when lesson plans have to compete with cell phones and social media: Are You Not Entertained?!
Our sixth and final debate of the course seemed to be a hot topic for a number of people in the class. As this was the debate topic I signed up for, I naturally already had thoughts on the issue going into my research. First, I want to address the “cursive” component of the topic. It was clear that this was the easiest one to argue against keeping in rotation, and we have seen schools phasing out cursive instruction over…
The fifth debate topic for EC&I 830 was a challenging one. Technology is exciting and can be extremely beneficial in the educational world, but on a larger scale, it is apparent that there are alarming inequities that technology only serves to amplify. Our debaters highlighted several positive aspects of technology and how it has created opportunities where previously none existed, or if they did, they were minimal. Technology has created free or low-cost access to information, where previously people had…
Over the past 20 years, cell phones have become increasingly integral to the lives of our children. The newness of the technology was exciting, but now we are beginning to realize the repercussions of unfettered access to technology as we are seeing depression and anxiety increase in kids, cyberbullying and suicide rates climbing. It felt impossible to perceive the risks that cell phones brought before they were suddenly here. Cell phones are impacting learning as well. Students are constantly distracted….
The way that AI has crept into our world has me feeling a bit like a frog in boiling water. I didn’t even realize I was in the heat until all of a sudden I was cooked. Programs like ChatGPT have the education world all in a panic about what to do. Strangely enough, the debates are not that dissimilar to those that were had with the evolution of the calculator, word processors, and spell-checkers. The challenge the education world…
“Mom, can I use your phone to find my friend’s TikTok account?” “Mom, can I use your computer? I want to play Grow a Garden on Roblox.” These are two questions I got from my children before breakfast this morning. As a mother of two pre-teen children, the topic of social media use is a common one in my household. I think we can all agree that this is very much part of our reality now and for the foreseeable…
Ding! Ding! Buzz! Pop up! Pop up! Buzz! While researching the effects of technology use in classrooms, I was keenly aware of how distracted I was by the technology around me. The use of technology in classrooms today is a highly contentious topic, with numerous arguments for and against its positive and negative aspects. I struggle to take a side on the argument, and instead suggest that when considering technology use in the classroom, we consider certain aspects. The…
My teaching career has ebbed and flowed in terms of engagement with technology. When I first started teaching, the school where I taught was fairly progressive with technology use in classrooms, and students had ample access to computers. Smartboards were all the rage. I spent quite a bit of time getting familiar with the various technologies available to our classrooms. Then I moved to Canada and started working at a land-based elementary school that basically removed technology…