I have to say that I did not find the SAMR article particularly informative, it did serve as a good entry point for discussion of how to integrate technology in the classroom.
Our small group discussion, however, proved to be more engaging and bring to the fore more of the benefits and drawbacks of the use/integration of technology in our classrooms.
One of the things we discussed was the author's analogy of technology in the classroom being like grandma's house, a nice place that you would like to visit but wouldn't want to stay long term. One group member argued that technology should be the place that you go, it should be the content.
For the most part, I agree with this argument. I believe there needs to be a more seamless integration of technology in the classroom. There is far form that can be done with it than is currently being done in most classrooms. One example we discussed was the use of the Smartboard. We have all seen a Smartboard being used more like a whiteboard than for its interactive capabilities.
One concern is the idea that technology can be too engaging. To use the Smartboard example again, students are often so excited about using the technology that they do not pay attention to the lesson. This speaks to how well the technology is integrated. Perhaps if the technology was so commonplace in the classroom that it was seen as just another learning tool like a pencil or a textbook then students might focus more on the lesson than on the technology. On the other hand, part of the appeal of technology is that it's novelty increases student engagement. I can't tell you how many students have told me that going to the computer lab to do Razz Kids or Cool Math Games was the best part of their day. The question is: Are they excited about learning, or are they excited about being on the computer? And at the end of the day, as long as the students are learning, does the cause for their excitement really matter?
Hey Nadia,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that technology is important and it should be integrated into the classroom because it can help students learn. At the same time, I think that technology cannot take the place of the course material, it can only assist in understanding and learning it. For example in order to understand how linear equations work in relation to graphs, students need to be able to work with the formula as well as draw their own graph using a linear equation. A motion sensor which graphs the motion is a piece of technology which can be used to help students connect the change in the line to the change in the linear equation, to the change in the person walking towards the motion sensor. In this example the technology enhanced the learning because it helped students to understand the relationship between the equation and the graph, but the technology itself was not the goal of the learning. I agree with you that students do get overwhelmed with the technological stimulation overload and sometimes it makes it difficult for them to focus on the content of the lesson. In this case I think the technology is more detrimental because it distracts from learning rather than enhancing it.