What Do We Expect From Tech?

This is a hard blog for me to write.  I don't like to preach (although I invariably end up doing so) and I try to tread the fine line that distinguishes venting from complaining, but this blog will probably end up sounding preachy and whiny.  For those of you who choose to read on, I apologize in advance.

I have to begin by saying that I did not want to attend today's class.  I reviewed the syllabus to find out what the attendance policy is for this class and didn't see anything, so I emailed Jeff and Kris.  In this communication, I explained my dilemma and asked to be allowed to submit an end-of-course reflection and excused from class.  Jeff emailed me back, saying that he expected to see me in class.

I respect Jeff.  I enjoy his teaching style and he models the type of instructor that I hope to be.  Additionally, I really want to learn how to teach with technology.  So I came to class.  I came to class with the expectation that maybe today I would leave class with a tangible skill.

For the fifth and final time this summer, I was disappointed.  Don't get me wrong.  I walked away with some things to think about and a couple of websites to investigate, and that has substantial value.  Yet I still walked away thinking: "I am not getting what I expected from this class."  That thought led me to deeper questions.    What do I expect from technology in education?  What benefits am I expecting and exactly who is the greatest beneficiary, me or my students?  What did I really expect from this class?

These are my answers:

I expect educational technology to save time.
I expect educational technology to work.
I expect educational technology to encourage creativity.
I expect educational technology to enhance communication.
I expect educational technology to provide a window to worlds my students might otherwise never see.

Students and teachers gain equally from using technology in the class room, but I believe that teachers pay a higher cost.  Technology does not always save time nor does it always work.  Technology can sometimes frustrate creativity and communication.  Technology opens up so many new, exciting and interesting worlds, teachers sometimes end up competing with it, rather than teaching with it.

At first, I expected this class to give me tangible skills that I could use with current educational technology.  At this point in the game, I guess I should have known better.  This is a graduate level course....so all they plan to do is teach me how to THINK about technology?  Nah, we do get exposure to some usable skills but the knowledge is very shallow.  I understand now that we are expected to play around with the applications, you know, failure-based learning and all that.  Ok.  I'll put that on my list.  Sure thing.

Ok, so no hard skills are really going to be gained from 504.  Ok.  So I focused in on our instructors to give depth and meaning to this course.  I wasn't disappointed there.  Jeff and Kris have dynamic and engaging teaching styles and I gain from hearing them speak, but I can't help but think that we are missing opportunities to gain more.

For example, we could have skyped today's meeting.  Or used a podcast, or chat session.  We could use some of this technology that we spend so much time talking about.  Hey, wait, the whole course could even be online huh?

Or maybe I expect too much?

Edublogging - Hmmmm

So I have made time to read four or five edu-blogs and my feelings are mixed.  I love the blogs that provide resources and lesson plans for teachers like this one.  I have already subscribed and I like being able to read about teacher's experiences with technology before I start searching around for helpful applications.

Other blogs like this one focus on specific teacher experiences and are more like journals.  These are truly interesting but require more back-reading to get a real understanding of the blogging conversation.  The blog above, titled "Learning is Messy" is really interesting because it details one teacher's struggle to incorporate useful technology in his classroom despite district limitations.

I found one edu-blog to be confusing, but I think that has more to do with my ignorance of terms like "plog" and "pencil integration".   This blog is an example of the type of edu-blog that I found to be slightly frustrating and a bit of a time-waster for me.

Replying to an edu-blogger's post was awkward.  No matter the anonymity and facelessness of the internet, it still felt like I was walking up on a perfect stranger and inviting myself to his/her conversation.   I know that people write blogs for an authentic audience and that they desire response, but it still just feels kind of rude.   It's not like talking to you guys, I'll say that for sure.