Adapting with Technology

I really enjoyed Dan Brown's video because it identified a lot about how I’ve felt about student’s access to information both as a student myself and as a future teacher.  As a student with full access to the internet I always felt it was a waste of my time when teachers forced me to memorize dates and basic facts, because I new I could look up that information in seconds any time I needed it.  Since with the internet access to books and videos on all subjects no longer belongs to the elite, as future teachers we won’t have to spend as much time on reciting information and forcing students to memorize it, but can instead spend more time teaching students about what they can be doing with all the information they have at their fingertips.

I’m interested in what it would be like to use tablets in the classroom as it could make textbooks more accessible to students and give students access to the Internet while in class.  I think tablets can be used as a tool to give students more agency in their learning.  Instead of standing in front of the classroom and lecturing students on the history of a novel (the type of teaching Dan Brown was condemning in the video), with the use of tablets teachers could create a type of game or webquest, allowing students to find the information on the historical background of a novel on their own.  I think this kind of activity would not only make class more enjoyable for students, it would also help them remember factual information better than if it was simply told to them.

I found a website that lists the pros and cons of substituting textbooks with tablets in the classroom and I think it nicely lays out both the benefits and possibilities of using this tool, but also the realistic difficulties we would have to iron out before actually implementing this technology in the classroom. http://tablets-textbooks.procon.org/

Another website: http://www.tabletsforschools.co.uk/, is a resource for how to implement the use of tablets in the classroom for both teachers and parents.  The organization is obviously biased as they are also selling the tablets and partnering with companies like Pearson and Samsung, but a lot of the content on their website seems to spark a good discussion about the use of tablets, for example they argue: “The degree to which independent learning is enhanced depends on the extent to which independence is embedded into the existing teaching.”

An article out of Columbus on how a local school district there plans to use tablets into their school shows what schools are currently doing with this technology: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/08/18/textbook-tech.html

-Olivia