Teacher Attitudes about Technology

After reading the article on “Digital Natives” and “Digital Immigrants,” I started thinking about how technology is used in educational settings and how teachers can use it to lure students into learning. The article has stuck with me because I feel it is relevant to my own life, and it made me realize why it is required to take an educational technology course for a teacher preparation program. I consider myself in between a digital native and digital immigrant. I know a lot more than my parents do when it comes to certain technological features of ipads, ipods and computers, but I know significantly less than my younger cousins who can barely recall life before Microsoft and Apple. However, I am eager to learn. I don’t want my students to characterize me as a “digital immigrant,” and in my own college experience, I have more often than not seen teachers approach technology in a negative way. Although these educators may not realize it, but their attitudes can impede student learning. 

When I was a high school student, computers and ipods were the essence of technological advancement. They were not permitted in the classrooms for students. Now, students have ipads, smart phones, and many products of technology. Since high school, several classrooms I’ve been in have banned the use of technology during sessions. In one of my classes, I am not allowed to have a laptop to take notes because my instructor doesn’t trust her students to actually take notes and resist browsing the web. In a way, I understand the professor’s argument, but in this technologically advancing world, many students have adapted to study methods and habits that rely heavily on technology. While I may be old school by studying for tests with flashcards and taking notes with college-ruled paper and a pencil, other students prefer to record presentations, type their notes, and organize them through their products. It’s different in a collegiate setting because I am here by choice, so it seems ridiculous that students should have to adapt and modify their learning practices to make the instructor more comfortable, but they need to reach a common ground. If teachers treat technology in such a bad way, how can students relate when they don’t know life without it? 

Although I consider myself technologically challenged in comparison to my younger peers, I do believe it makes things more interesting to use it in the classroom and entice students to learn. I feel challenged by technology daily, but I am excited and I feel satisfied when I learn how to do something new on my Macbook because more often than not, these are useful tools that I will use daily or in the future. While completing the M-Portfolio, I was irritated because I didn’t know how to include a link in my text. Once I figured it out, I was thrilled because I had taught myself a new “trick” that came in handy for the completion of my portfolio. Technology is ever-changing and teachers can’t always keep up with their students, but they should approach technology with a positive face and embrace it because the times are definitely changing!