The ETEC 533 Journey: A Reflection
Technology in the classroom.
Sounds like an issue to me! Technology is constantly changing, as a result so does how we use it. I became involved in this program in order to learn more about different types of technology and how it can be used to help people understand things. Seems simple right? While as with learning anything as you get beyond skin deep understandings and come to recognize the inner workings of a subject, in some cases the answers we find only lead to more questions! This course focused on the use of technology in the math and science classroom but for much of the course there was a real focus on issues of technology use. I think many, if not all of us in this program think that there are some real benefits to using technology and I have not changed my mind about that at all. However, the famous line reads with great power comes great responsibility, so with the added benefits of being able to understand the uses and hopefully being able to apply those uses for our students we have to be aware of the consequences and possible criticisms that others may give us along the way. The journey in this course for me started with taking a look into the issues of using technology, perhaps a good method for the analysis of specific technologies which came later in the course.
Beginnings
Like any good educator and professional before I started getting my hands messy with course I took a quick reflection back to my experiences with technology. Obviously I had a computer and Nintendo as a kid but considering the academic nature of the course I was to focus on how I previously used technology in an educational context. This experience did change my outlook on the use of technology way back when… I just didn’t realize how much until I thought about it. I did so much I even described it as having “changed the way I wanted to learn and how I learned. It helped me to see the power of technology and how it can create opportunities” (Di Palma, 2010). This was in regards to my first online course I did in a WebCT format in third year university. Of course as I explained in that posting I had originally signed up for the course through convenience because I was a commuter. I didn’t want to drive 30 minutes so I figured online learning was the way to go. Interesting that it was the convenience factor that lead me to take the course but once I had begun I also quickly learned how to appreciate the flexibility and design online courses afford. It was the beginning of a journey that has brought me here to the MET program. After this initial reflection I was ready to think more deeply about educational technology, not just from a students’ perspective but also from an educators’ perspective. This brings me to my next thoughts…….
Technology: the Good
So technology can be bad? As with anything there can be perspectives that either compliment or negatively impact the use of technology. Given my professional status I generally try to see the good in many things. Technology use is no exception as evidenced by my posting regarding the good uses of technology. In the post I argued that:
“to quickly summarize good use of technology in a classroom would facilitate at least two things:
– it would improve student understanding by manipulating the learning environment to involve different techniques for knowledge delivery
– it would improve student learning generally by lowering the time it takes for students to acquire knowledge and /or perhaps decreasing preparation time for teachers which allows them to focus on other areas that students may be struggling with” (Di Palma, 2010).
Therefore technology has its uses from an educator’s perspective as well as a student’s. The use of digital imaging applications as an example is very valuable and was the beginning of my thinking towards how virtual applications can improve student learning capabilities, something that lead into my research in the course later.
Technology: the Issues
As mentioned previously technology use can be have not only positive use but as any good scholar would point out there are also issues involved that can hinder its employment in a classroom. After conducting interviews with two colleagues I was bombarded with the negative aspects of technology use that I may have not considered previously. Incorporating technology into a classroom is not always a simple task. There are considerations to be taken into account including “who gets what and how fair access to these technologies can be administered” and “teachers may not be interested or may not find it a beneficial use of their time to learn how to use technology if they don’t see how it directly improves student results” (Di Palma, 2010). These issues need to be taken into account when teachers are planning their programs as they are issues because sometimes they just don’t get solved for one reason or another. Different teachers, with different experiences and at different points in their careers also play a big part in making a decision to use a certain technology. Teachers need to weigh the costs and benefits of implementing a technology to make sure they are getting what they and their students need from it before jumping in and making a decision to use it. This was a critical point to consider that I had originally overlooked while I was drawn to the flash and glamour of making use of some cutting edge activities. A point I will not forget in the future when making planning decisions into my personal pedagogy. But let’s not get too hung up on it because the motivation and meaningful affordances of virtual technology can sure knock a learner’s socks off!
Real Science Learning Conducted Virtually
Visual interactive technology has a great knack for bringing things to life for students. Comparing what can be learned in a textbook and what can seem like a real life activity through a computer will often always end with the same result, go with the computer simulation! Students have improved motivation and focus when actually interacting with the material that they are learning. Interactive applications give curriculum meaning and provide experiential opportunities for students to get their hands messy….. Unless, of course the activities are virtual simulations conducted in an online environment. The next step in my learning came back to working with virtual simulations, specifically online dissections which are a great tool for teachers and students since they can be repeated multiple times and use no real resources (Di Palma, 2010). It was during this time that I came to the realization that I had a particular interest in the simulations that technology can provide to students. Even after considering the issues involved in technology use the thought of being to use simulations to engage students seemed too good to worry about negative issues involved. Again I came back to the cost benefit ratio of employing certain technologies in the classroom and this one was a real winner. I chose to conduct my issues research on the merits of incorporating virtual labs in the classroom as a supplement to real lab activities and that was when I realized that I was a true believer in the use of technology to improve my own pedagogy. There was no turning back from there and I decided to take things to the next level and look into virtual worlds to supplement student’s classroom experiences.
Sold to the Man in the Red Hat: A Virtual Learning Environment
I was intrigued by the opportunities students could have learning in a virtual environment. Now it wasn’t just completing a virtual activity but the entire learning experience could be immersed in a visually stimulating, collaborative and realistic environment. The activity didn’t just involve a dissection but it was an entire virtual place that could be manipulated to immerse a student in a life like situation that involved learning science. Second Life is a multi user virtual environment where students can collaborate, manipulate and engage in activities that may not be available to them in the real world. The topics I had been researching previously were now no longer separate activities but they could be housed all in one place, Genome Island. The virtual island contained visual simulations of molecules, demonstrations of popular genetic studies and opportunities for users to conduct their own investigations. I felt like I hit the jackpot! I felt like all the research I had done to show the potential merits of online learning had been justified by this visually stimulating interactive environment. Of course I did consider the potential issues that could be involved in using this environment including the possibility of predators being represented virtually as the island is not exclusive to just my students and the possibility of students being distracted with other content that they can potentially access in the virtual world but these issues can be overcome and I feel the benefits definitely outweigh the potential costs. Taking time to introduce students to navigating and setting up user accounts is another cost to consider, but after reflecting on what I originally thought was a great online learning experience (using Web CT back in my first online course) this new option for learning online was overwhelmingly advanced. The Web CT interface never afforded the kind of life like feel and visual cues that Genome Island does (Di Palma, 2010). Something that I hope will intrinsically motivate my students to engage in their own learning in a way they never thought possible. What an enlightening experience!
Conclusion
After all my research and time spent thinking about what I have learned thus far in this course I have developed a true appreciation for the power that interactive technology can provide to learners. So I have evolved from a learner who reflected on my original experience with technology and how I felt it was beneficial for me as a student, although from a lifestyle convenience perspective, then asking myself questions about the merits of the actual use of technology to directly improve learning, then considering the issues involved with incorporating technologies into a learning environment and then coming to final conclusions about at least one type of educational technology that even after considering some of the potential flaws, seems to offer cutting edge opportunities to engage learners in virtually presented content. My next questions no longer involve the merits of using educational technology as I have already justified them to myself through reflection, research, considerations and potential benefits but how will educational technology improve student learning from here? I am placing my bets on haptics and the potential to involve sensations in virtual learning experiences.
References
Di Palma, A. (2010, January 10). The Online Learning Classroom [Web blog message]. Retrieved from https://blogs.ubc.ca/dipalmaetec533/2010/01/10/the-online-learning-classroom/
Di Palma, A. (2010, January 17). What Makes Good Use of Technology? [Web blog message]. Retrieved from https://blogs.ubc.ca/dipalmaetec533/2010/01/17/what-makes-good-use-of-technology/
Di Palma, A. (2010, February 1). Technology Issues in the Classroom: A Reflection [Web blog message]. Retrieved from https://blogs.ubc.ca/dipalmaetec533/2010/02/01/technology-issues-in-the-classroom-a-reflection/
Di Palma, A. (2010, March 15). Making Science Become More Real [Web blog message]. Retrieved from https://blogs.ubc.ca/dipalmaetec533/2010/03/15/making-science-become-more-real/
Di Palma, A. (2010, April 15). Is Second Life Merely a Techie Playground for Social Encounters or Can it be Transformed Into a Meaningful and Effective Method of Instruction? [Web blog message]. Retrieved from https://blogs.ubc.ca/dipalmaetec533/2010/04/15/is-second-life-merely-a-techie-playground-for-social-encounters-or-can-it-be-transformed-into-a-meaningful-and-effective-method-of-instruction/