Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Will the Next Generation of Teachers Make a Difference?

Will Richardson discusses his visit with a graduate class in New Jersey. I'm interested in how the graduate students in our class will respond. Is he right? Are you not interested in the challenge of incorporating technology? Can you think of more "yes buts"? Is your experience with technology and pedagogy the same as that of the New Jersey students? Do you think that's about the right amount or not?

2 comments:

A.M. Strzyz said...

I was interested, but not surprised by this. Incorporating technology is not easy to do without sufficient technology to use (I guess this is my "yes, but"). So many schools are short on funding, and getting new computers or other technology is not a priority. I feel I am able to think about this incorporation now that I have taught for a few years. However, as a pre-service teacher who will learn so much in the first few years and may often be overwhelmed, I'm not sure I'd be that open to it. This is not to say that teacher prep courses should ignore this. I just think it is important to give pre-service teachers an introduction and means to explore some options for class. If they choose just one of ten, that will be a step in the right direction.

Anonymous said...

Louann,
When I think about technology in the classroom, I think about the activites and practices that it is going to have to (in some regards) replace merely due to the time restrictions that schools have during a regular day. For example, if English classes are required to teach technology based disciplines they will lose time to practice writing, reading, and interpreting literature. I am just always worried that technology may take time away from skills that students are already struggling with and are not getting the needed time to practice these skills.
Greg