The Art of Teaching... with Technology?

Last week in one of my seminar classes, I found myself defending educational technology.  In this course- The Art of Teaching – our goal is to dissect the language of teachers and teaching and try to reevaluate what it means to ‘teach’ in today’s world.  Many in the class felt that technology was taking away the personal connection between teacher and student that is so important for making a classroom a community.  While I can understand some of the skepticism, I had to intervene.  Educational technology today is not what it was a few years ago.  The plethora of tools and multimedia that can be used in the classroom are no replacement for an actual person, but they do allow for a level of interactivity that far exceeds just text-based communication.  

My conversation with my classmates made me think more about what it means to teach through technology, and the importance of maintaining a ‘personal touch’ whether you are blogging, podcasting, Voice-Threading, or facilitating an online course.  There are different types of communication in face to face classes, and the same should be true of classes that use technology.  It is ok to have a ‘go to’ technology that you know works in your classroom (I, for example, use my LCD projector every day.  It is part of the routine, my students know when they walk in to look at the projector screen for the day’s task) but also try to mix it up and try different media formats to keep it interesting and to make sure the students are exposed to a variety of tools while they are in your classroom.  Using a classroom website/wiki, digital portfolios, or a blog is also a great way to incorporate a technology into the classroom routine without making it mundane. 

Part of the skepticism that exists among veteran or technology-inexperienced teachers stems from a lack of knowledge and comfort with the technology.  We are all here because we want to learn, but there are far too many educators out there who are comfortable with the status-quo.  The fact of the matter is that their students are the ones who lose.  How can this be combated?  We can mandate technology use until we’re blue in the face, but it is not going to make a difference if the teachers don’t buy into it.  Professional learning communities that allow for mentorship are a step in the right direction, but the most important piece is time.  I am reminded of Jesse Spano's meltdown on Saved By the Bell - there's no time, there's never any time!  Resistant educators look at technology as ‘one more thing they have to do.’ Schools should provide teachers with the time (professional development afternoons, for example) to experiment with the technology and develop a comfort with it so it can be used in the classroom.  These afternoons can be most beneficial when teachers are allowed to work in their own classrooms or in small learning groups with an experienced technology steward to offer guidance and support. Teachers are just like the students they teach when it comes to technology: they need to be given the time, the resources, the flexibility, and the freedom of direction (lets call it teacher differentiation) to flourish.

Education doesn’t have to change as much skeptics think it does in order to embrace technology.  I’ve included Taylor Mali’s ‘What Teachers Make’ to stress the fact that the teacher is still an important force in the classroom and ‘what teachers make’ doesn’t necessarily change when technology is introduced. Maintain the personal touch.  Technology does not have to mean a sterilization of the classroom - it is just another way for kids to express themselves and to learn.