My thoughts on Chapter 3 of "Rethinking Education In The Age of Technology"

        I found this chapter to be quite interesting. It was very cool to be able to compare what we read in chapter 2 to what we read this week. There are many different opinions between the enthusiasts & the skeptics. Although I do understand some of the arguments presented by the skeptics, my heart still belongs to the enthusiasts. I have learned so many new ways that technology can be beneficial & useful to my students & those ideas have far outdone the ways the ways that technology can be hurtful.

        One topic that the skeptics brought up, that I have worried about too, is the fact that a lot of technology is too expensive for schools. I do believe this to be true, especially with our economy & the amount of budget cuts that are going on right now. On the other hand, I believe that if schools actually took the appropriate amount of time to investigate the costs of technology & the best deal they can get, the technology would be so beneficial in the long run that it would matter how much money was spent. It astounds me that I am only in my 4^th week of a college course & I can already understand the HUGE amount of benefits that technology will have on our students; why can’t school superintendants & principals see this? If this is the case in my future school or classroom, I would fight as long as it takes to try & get technology into my classroom. Whether it is individual laptops for my students or a SMART Board at the front of the classroom, I want to be able to introduce my students to technology, the web, & various other programs that are available. I would write letters, do fundraisers, or anything else that it takes to get technology into my classroom or, at least, into our school.

        Another topic that the skeptics brought up was the idea the idea of Classroom Management being disrupted. The skeptics say that elementary classrooms would be too loud if computers were implemented; I personally find this idea to be insane! That “noise” is the sound of students interacting, learning, experiencing, & gaining knowledge! Also under the category of Classroom Management, the skeptics says worry that since most classes are only 45-50 minutes, that students will not get enough from the limited time on the computers. Although I understand where these skeptics are coming from, I do NOT agree. Even if the students only get a short amount of time on the computer, they are still experiencing a different world! If this were the case in my classroom, I would make sure to do intense research before every computer time my students get. I would make sure to find the websites or programs that are most relevant to my students & would be most worth their time.