After interviewing a fellow teacher, and reading other classmates posts, I recognize that there are many common themes throughout the various interviews. By conducting our own interviews and reading abstracts of others, it allows us to become more knowledgeable about what is working with educational technology in the math and science context, versus what is not working. It also allows us to see the different ways teachers are using technology in their classes and how it is used differently in various grades.
One of the common themes throughout the interviews was that technology allowed for students’ learning to be more self-directed. Students are controlling their learning by working through the research process and allowing the Internet to let them explore. They are researching their interests and learning more. This shows that we should be allowing students to investigate and take more of a leadership role in their learning, which in turn allows them to become more independent..
Another common theme was that some teachers felt that sometimes technology can be a distraction since students have access to social media and other entertainment sites. Many schools do have such sites blocked so students are unable to access these sites via school devices, however majority of students have their own device. This seems like it will always be a challenge. By using social media as a part of learning could help eliminate some of these issues. Teachers are now using Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook as a part of their courses now to try to take advantage of what social media has to offer.
Finally, one theme that I would like to investigate further is that educational technology can help students that have learning challenges. This was reflected in my interview as well as others. I would like to focus in on how educational technology is helping students with learning disorders, specifically in math. As a part of my current teaching practice, I believe this will be very valuable to me.