Interview Reflections
IV. Reflection on Interviews
Main areas of interest
I had several questions in my interview process. The main ones were however if technology can embody the essence of the nature of the course and/or how technology itself enhances pedagogy i.e. improves students’ experience (more meaningful) and understanding of the learning process.
Assumptions, beliefs and/or ideals
Prior to Interview
I believed that technology should mirror or embody processes within the subject area and that it should allow for students interactivity, opportunity for feedback, enable problem solving and be applicable to/linked to personal, societal and global situations/experiences while being open-ended (allowing for divergent options and/or further investigation.
After Interview
After investigation, and reviewing my interview and transcripts from my colleagues, I would say that the technology itself does not have to be the subject (as in the math or chemistry process) but rather encourage/enable students to explore for themselves. Take them to other limits and likewise assist them in their own self-paced investigation.
Pedagogy is a key consideration and I see that more time needs to be spent on generating questions and tasks and researching and incorporating technologies that can facilitate tasks and questioning processes while allowing students to interact with the problem in real and concrete ways.
I believe even more that the technology must be interactive and enable individual time and work with the technology. This process in and of itself will enable self directed learning, divergent options and further investigation. I learnt that while not all math concepts may show real life processes or applications, visual representations or extrapolation of what solutions offer are very important. These can be aided with technology.
Recurring themes
One of the main points raised was the time saved in the use of technology and the more time that can be spent on going through material for understanding rather than dissemination.
Lone ranger activities in driving technology integration were mentioned. Other similarities were seen in the necessity of strong pedagogy over the use of technology. Cost and teacher training and support were high considerations. As was the need to model classrooms to reflect the reality of the social and technological aspects of society.
Differences or points of debate
Such instances occurred around questions of the impact of technology on increasing students’ understanding. Some found that they interacted with the technology more so than their students and that students benefited from teachers being able to use the technology to add interest to the lesson and to deliver content in an easier and more effective way. Others felt that technology in some cases did not push students to understand and work with concepts but rather becoming more reliant on the technology to solve problems. However, from my interview and others’, technology was shown to increase students’ understanding while also enriching the process by enabling them to engage in self-paced and self-directed learning. In the case of the latter such benefits were seen/ generated when students were able to interact with the technology themselves and when teachers created questions/tasks that pushed students to use concepts and were supported by the technology that widened boundaries and limits.
Follow up questions/further investigation
One question therefore at the end of the process is about the teaching process and if it does not stretch or push the student then is it effective? This would apply to technology use in education as well and whether or not it supports stretching/pushing students and/or expanding their experiences and investigations. Similarly, if a technology does extend limits is it effective? How do we enhance without technology, that is, if we do not have access?
I would like to know more about/explore technology that enable student interaction in a real-life and relevant context, while enabling concrete reference. Technologies that allow students to direct their investigation and that allow them to track thoughts/processes. Interactive Whiteboards (IWBs) are definitely on the top of my list of technologies to explore further.