Yes, but No.

Can applying creativity through technology expand learning in all the disciplines? Yes, I suppose so – in a small way, at least. You can incorporate technology into all of the different subjects, and it is able to expand your knowledge – but by how much, is the question. I would not say that technology is the best or the most beneficial way to expand a student's knowledge. Technology is good at capturing a student's attention; it's a good hook. However, I would not use technology to penetrate the knowledge of the content into a student’s mind. In order to really capture and idea and expand a student’s knowledge, I feel that most students need to execute and experience the content. To me, looking at a screen, reading, and clicking a few buttons is not going to excessively expand the student’s learning. Don’t get me wrong, I support the idea of having technology in the classroom – I love the different, fun ways to incorporate the content, through technology; however, most of the time, technology in my classroom will be used as a hook or a closing activity.  Student’s need to learn through experience – experiments and interactive activities such as plays, skits, games. It is important to keep the children’s mind, as well as their bodies, active throughout the day – not staring at a computer screen or projector screen.

Unresolved Issues

Throughout the last three years of high school, I was enrolled in the K12 online program with Agora Cyber Charter school; therefore, all of my classes were online.  I can say, through experience, that no, teaching online classes does not eliminate inequality in the school districts. Even as a student, I still had gender biases. For instance, in Literature every week, we had to complete an online discussion. When reading and replying to the different students, I would normally pick and choose whose discussion post I read, based on their gender, depending on the discussion topic. So, if I'm being unintentionally bias, I'm sure the teachers can do the same.
I also don't think technology is the solution to any of our moral problems. Gender bias/inequality is a human fault. Technology was created by humans; therefore, technology is not going to solve our moral problems, because it was humans who created it, and our faults have not changed from the invention of technology. If the faults are still in the creator, they will not be resolved from the creation. Therefore, I do not believe that teaching online classes would eliminate inequality in the school districts. Eliminating inequality will take much more means, than that.

iSchool Revelation

I actually like the idea of the iSchool. I don't necessarily think that it's the solution to a broken school system - eliminating the use of paper and pencils and replacing them with computer technology is not necessarily going to fix the deeper problems of our education system; however, I do believe that it will be the future of our schools. We're already on our way to  starting the process of interchanging paper materials for electronic technology. For example, most assignments are typed up, using a computer - hardly any assignments are turned in hand-written, anymore. Also, a lot of assignments are accessible, completed and submitted online - blog posts, online discussions, papers, the syllabus, class calendars, assignment descriptions, etc... For most of my classes, all of my work is completed and submitted through the computer, and I hear things everyday about new electronic technology being incorporated into our school system. I'm excited about this progress. I've always liked using technology, as well as being able to incorporate it into my schooling. Granted, there are some downfalls to this system , like there is going to be in any system, but for the most part, I view the iSchool revelation as positive.

Lessons Learned

Although through taking this class, I’ve felt like I already have a pretty good handle on technology and how to incorporate it into my classroom, there’s also been a lot of resources and aspects of technology that I hadn’t thought about beforehand, that is useful for my future classes – for which I am appreciative. For example, the other day two friends and I were working on a project for another class, where we had to think of different ways of teaching a lesson, and in a couple of the scenarios, we used resources that we had learned about in Technology in the Classroom. I’ve also made a couple Prezi presentations and used them for projects in other classes. So, even though coming into the class, I wasn’t sure how applicative and practical this class was going to be, – coming from a generation who’s grown up with technology and is experienced in technology – and although there is content that we are already familiar with, I also feel that there are aspects of the class that are very helpful and informative. I also need to remember that even though I may feel like I have a handle on a subject, it is important for me to recognize and remember that there is always something new and useful I can learn – and not just in Technology in the Classroom, but in all aspects of my life. 

Web of Ideas

This week, I learned of more ways to incorporate technology into my classroom, as well as additional methods of teaching that I can use in the future. Some ideas that I had, through the class lesson and brainstorming ideas, were ways that I could use internet sources such as Google Earth, Google Earth Lit Trips, and Prezi for different lessons, in different subjects.  For instance, using Google Earth for a geography lesson; using Google Earth Lit Trips for a literature lesson; using Prezi for a phonics or reading lesson; or using online games as an activity for a lesson. I also enjoyed the feedback from the other students in class. It made me think about some things that I hadn't though of previously, and stimulated more ideas. This angle of looking at, thinking about, and creating lesson with technology definitely adds to what I want to do in my future classrooms. These lessons with technology have helped me expand my thoughts and ideas for future lesson plans, and I will certainly be using some of these ideas and resources in my future classroom.

Transforming our Education Through Technology

Technology is constantly changing the way we live and learn. When I was younger, in elementary school, the most recent technology that influenced the way I was learning was computers. During that time, computers were in more of the beginning stage; and since my elementary years, computers and their technology have come a long way. When I was younger, I used to imagine where the technology of computers would be when I was in high school and college. I thought that by the time I was in high school, we would all be taking notes and doing all of our assignments on our computers, instead of on paper - which is partly the way it is in colleges, right now. Technology has always had a huge influence on education, and will certainly continue to change and influence education.
Technology is being changed and updated every day. This advancement in technology has an influence in our lives, as well as our education. Over the years technology such as laptops, smart boards, white boards, projectors, etc... have had a huge effect in the way we are able to teach, as well as learn; and as the years continue to go by, technology is inevitable to advance, along with an advancement in our education.