Today was the first day of class with Dr. Simirnova. This video was viewed and reflected upon as an introduction to the course, as well as, used as a tool to acquaintance the class with Dr. Simirnova's view point on the use of technology in the classroom. Technology has become a very powerful tool as well as an equally potential enemy, in my opinion. Technology has allowed for major improvements in areas of life. for example, the medical field has improved in tremendous amounts of ways, schools have flourished by allowing students to take online courses, communication has become a world wide instant task, and in some ways, the environment is being helped by allowing individuals to choose digital options over paper. On the other hand, has technology created lazier, machine dependent, anti-social humans? I think, yes. Ask a cashier to give you your change without looking at the cash registrar for the correct answer. Can they do it? The majority, can not. Watch people in a restaurant, at the store, at a party. How long can they hold a conversation without pausing to look at their phone? Not very long. How many of you can can accurately still write in cursive? I can't. How are you at spelling? I'm awful! Did you know, countless elementary schools took spelling out of their curriculum? When asked why, educators responded by saying "with spell check there's no need for students to focus on spelling". I'm curious to hear what your thoughts are on that. I'm not completely against the use of technology in the classroom. I think it should be used as a privilege, not as a crutch. It should be used to complete an accurate digital dissection of a frog, but not replace the hands on experiment. It should be used to play mathematical games, but not spit out the correct answers. It should be used to explore our continuous questions, feed our cravings for more knowledge and understand of the world around us, a tool to view outer space, a way to communicate with students in South America, and as our eyes to experience the depths of our oceans.
