Technology and teaching - this certainly is a topic of debate today, and even more so in the recent past. After reading many of the articles, I had to think about my own ideas concerning classroom computing, emailing, etc.
I never even used computers on a regular basis until I started college. Now students learn to use the computer at home even before kindergarten. I enjoy Moran's pragmatic outlook when he simply states that "computers have altered our landscape" (Moran 204). Yes, the academic atmosphere has changed in ways I never thought possible as a youngster. But are these changes for the good or for the bad? The answer to this question deserves consideration, but most definitely doesn't have an answer. On one hand, technology provides opportunities for us to progress as a civilization through increased informational exchange (not to mention the fact that it's much faster than the pony express). Yet this exchange loses a certain touch of humanity because we no longer see facial expressions or hand writing. We no longer feel the presence of a warm body in the same room where this exchange takes place.
In short, we are bound to experience both pros and cons when we incorporate technology in the classroom. The only way we will truly find what helps or hinders is through experimentation and feedback in our own classrooms.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Diving In
Sharon's blog inspired me to look at Shaughnessy's article called "Diving In: An Introduction to Basic Writing." Leo Strauss's quote "Always assume that there is one silent student in your class who is by far superior to you in head and in heart" leads us to the core of what it means to "Dive In."
Teachers of basic writing students must reevaluate their own thinking about the teaching and learning process. What do the students need? Why are they in a basic writing skills classroom?
We do not have any easy answers to these questions. Each student will move across the learning spectrum over time, and we certainly don't want to pigeonhole any of them based on preconceived notions. The best way to find out what a student needs is through inquiry and open dialogue.
Teachers must welcome new students as they ride "the tide that brings them into the nation's college classrooms."Both parties need to dive in, get wet, and soak up the rays of knowledge radiating from a mutual relationship based on teaching, learning, and respect.
Teachers of basic writing students must reevaluate their own thinking about the teaching and learning process. What do the students need? Why are they in a basic writing skills classroom?
We do not have any easy answers to these questions. Each student will move across the learning spectrum over time, and we certainly don't want to pigeonhole any of them based on preconceived notions. The best way to find out what a student needs is through inquiry and open dialogue.
Teachers must welcome new students as they ride "the tide that brings them into the nation's college classrooms."Both parties need to dive in, get wet, and soak up the rays of knowledge radiating from a mutual relationship based on teaching, learning, and respect.
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