Upon completion of our "Green Group" project we came to the consensus that we, as teachers have all been exposed to new technological trends that will help us in the classroom. I felt this need as a teacher to be on the same, if not more advanced technological playing field with my students. If teachers can use the same technology that is popular amongst students and find connections using that technology to their curriculum then we are bound to be successful educators, right? This was my starting theory throughout our group project.
Our students are growing up in a much different world all around than the world we may have grown up in. A few of the people I coach soccer with put it like this; "We grew up grabbing a shopping cart or two, making them goals and just playing a pick up soccer game. Our students are growing up in a world where they plug in the "wii" get out the soccer mat and play virtual soccer in their living room." Will we ever catch up to the technological literacies of our students?
The answer is probably not!
After creating a homepage, a movie, a podcast and editing music I feel much more literate in my own skills. However these skills that I find so advanced are simply part of the recreational activities my students partake in. The younger generations to come will continue to have newer and more advanced technology. Therefore in the battle of students vs. teachers over technological literacy the students will most likely win.
What I have taken from this experience is the fact that because our students are growing up and being educated in this type of world we must use technology to better educate them. We can use a sound editing program to create a variation and teach them to do the same, much like studio producers and musicians and believe me this is different from arranging by rote and on staff paper.
I believe concepts are better absorbed because technology allows instant gratification in the elements we are trying to learn.
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I've often wondered if our resistance to using technology in our classes is because we are not comfortable with it. There is sometimes the misconception that we, as teachers, have to be more knowledgeable than our students in all areas, but the truth is, they could probably teach us a thing or two about technology. I think that is all the more reason why technology should be included in our curriculum! It would definitely create a more collaborative learning environment than if we were instructing them directly... they might actually be instructing us! Technology is always going to be rapidly changing... think how much more technologically savvy you are than your parents! We can either accept this fact and learn from those younger than us, or we can ignore that fact and deny an entire generation the chance to express themselves in the way they best know how.
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