Teacher and TechnologyEDUB 1990 Fall 2011

Dr. R Redekopp

Meta-Teach-Nition

What to do when there is nothing else to do: Watch – especially people who are not like you

Listen – especially to people who are not like you

Learn - that others are different and you need to understand

It’s not about YOU

It is about: Mainly your students and their learning Your colleagues

In other words – pedagogy and policy AND you don’t need to know everything!!

Your Turn

Tell 3 or 4 people near you:• Your subject preferences• Your preferred learning style (watching,

listening, doing, connecting, drawing …)• The teaching style of your favourite teacher

(this may help you identify your learning preference)

The Way We Were

Old – one computer, many students

The Way We Are

Recent – one computer per student

The Way We Will be

Near Future– Many computers per student

How hard is THis?

Very – if you need to know and control everything.

Moderate – because you have to set some things up initially

Manageable - once you have used things a few times

Terminology You Should Know

Terminology

For quick overviews try the 7 Things You Should Know series from Educause on

twitter, clickers, online editing, e-Readers, presentation tools …

Your Turn

Tell 3 or 4 people near you:• Your ‘tech’ comfort level• The kinds of tech you use (film strip, VCR, …,

Smartphone, tablet)• The next tech you would like to try

Why are we doing this?

If education is:• Content/info• Socialization• Process (how to learn/direction of learning)• Safety (babysitting)

How does technology enhance these?

Why are we doing this?

Apple says: 1000’s of apps, 24/7 learning, on-the-go

learning, wi-fi wherever research Video chat to learn, email, take pictures, record Keyboards do word prediction Great accessibility features iTunes U and other podcasts

Why are we doing this?

How do we sort the HYPE from the real goals? Where is the good research? What does it really

say? What kinds of learning benefit? What does brain research say?

The Brain argument

Left brain – logical, rational, analytical, look at parts

The Brain argument

Left brain – logical, rational, analytical, look at parts

The content argument

Facts, formulae, dates, computations, maps, timelines, body parts, recipes …

The content argument

Facts, formulae, dates, computations, maps, timelines, body parts, recipes …

The ‘engagement’ argument

Is it enough to just have cool tools? Is engagement that simple? What happened with TV, film, filmstrips,

whiteboards, coloured chalk, laser discs ???

Is infusion the answer? (Apologies to LwICT)

Your Turn

Tell 3 or 4 people near you:• Your favourite apps if you have any. It is OK if

you don’t use apps!!!• Are you more ‘right’ or ‘left’ brained• How do you best remember things? Memory,

paper, audio, apps, email?

So what are we really getting?

Consider the tech bias:

Churchill - “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”

So what are we really getting?

Consider the tech bias: White, western, middle class, male, efficient,

discrete parts, speed … Are the Amish right (fewer choices are better)?

Where has this taken us? Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The

Joy of Stats - BBC Four http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo

Your Turn

Tell 3 or 4 people near you how many:• Radio stations you listen to• TV channels you watch• Web sites you visit on a regular basis

• Where do you get your news?

And what comes with it?

Cyber-bullying Identity theft Too much info Bad info Disconnectedness (while over connected)

But don’t be discouraged

There are some huge benefits to using technology!

We need to consider the best ways to use and adopt these technologies – that’s where the fun lies.

We will need to give up some control – the info is now out there for all, just like Gutenberg opened up the Bible to the public (using a wine press!).