I'm getting a late start on my blog posts, but I suppose better late than never. Reading this book is actually getting me more excited about doing things digitally, both now and when I teach in the future.
When I started in the English Ad Ed major, I wanted to be the type of teacher that wouldn't use much technology. I remember a specific instance during observations that I thought to myself after seeing a boring PowerPoint, "What happened to just using an Elmo and those clear pages you can write on with a Vis-a-Vis?" Technology just didn't interest me. All I needed was a chalkboard and a book. I suppose that I've always viewed technology as a hindrance. Again, to cite observations, I was in an 8th grade English classroom where all the students had been given those mini laptops to use for the year. Class took an extra ten minutes to start because the computers had problems, and once they were started, the kids were more interested in playing mine sweeper than they were the lesson being taught. The technology just seemed to create more problems.
As I read, and continue to read, Hicks' text, my opinions seem to be evolving.
Hicks offers some great uses for technology, and offers them in ways that will avoid the aforementioned problems. Most importantly, at least for me, Hicks shows the reader that we can't push technology away. Computers and the like have become such a large part of our schools, our country, and even our culture, that we have no choice but to embrace them. Through Hicks I've discovered that the only way to combat the problems that technology can cause is to embrace it and use it to our full advantage. Being technology savvy can only expand your abilities as a teacher, first, by putting you on the same level as the kids and showing them that you understand the technology that they are undoubtedly into, and second, by giving you more options in terms of lessons. By understanding technology you're only expanding on your potential as a teacher.
The only thing that scares me is what technology will be like when I'm 50 or 60 years old. I hope that I'll be able to keep up.
Let me address that last part first Tim. I think that there's no doubt that technology will continue to change, and quite rapidly, for lots of reasons. What I appreciate about the Hicks' text is that even as he's demonstrating some cool tools you can use, he's also highlighting what's key about teaching writing. That way, even if the tools are no longer the same, you'll find the new tools (or your students will) that allow you to promote choice and inquiry, balance drafting and revision and build in opportunities for creative exploration of new genres. I think it becomes more about an approach to technology than a use of technology. Does that make sense? As for the first part, there is NO doubt that technology and its use complicate the teaching situation. But, as Hicks suggests, we may have a responsibility to ensure that our students know how to use some tools, and how to think about their use in their own lives. If it's true that most jobs of the future haven't been invented yet, we're not preparing students for the workplace, as much as we hope they'd have lively minds and an awareness of and appreciation for the world they live in and the people they find there. You can do that with books, paper and pens or with white boards, etc. Keep me posted.
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