When I got my undergrad I did not even have to take a computer class to get my BME. We did use computer for papers and music notation. There was a SMART Board in T.Berry 209 but we never got to touch it (and my Professors used it as a projector screen for notes on Power Point) . We were not prepared for the world of Technology that was out there then and there is no way we could be ready for what we have today. This brings me to this weeks question....Are teacher education programs preparing teachers for the 21st centenary classroom?
28 Comments
Carl Richburg
3/2/2014 04:42:01 am
I think for the most part teachers are being prepared for the world of Technology. The problem is that technology is always changing, and the best way to be properly prepared for technology is by using it yourself. It would be very hard to be exposed to all the new types of technology for teachers to use, besides just showing them powerpoint/youtube productions of them. Plus, it's harder for teachers that have been teaching for a number of years to use the new technology since they've been stuck with their ways of using what they're used to, so how are they going to teach new technology if they don't trust it themselves?
Reply
Jacqui
3/4/2014 02:21:41 am
I agree with you Carl. Teachers are being taught and that technology is always changing. I also agree with how you said its harder for teachers that have been teaching for a number of years to use new technology. I think that is a great point. I do believe we should do a better job of teaching older teachers how to use up to date technology. Overall though I think teachers try there best to teach how to use technology.
Reply
Brad Howell
3/8/2014 12:38:40 am
Carl, I agree with you that mostly everyone is prepared for the technology by the time they get into a teaching career. I think this has really changed a lot in the last 5 or so years. I think with how fast technology has been growing, schools were kind of trying to fight it at first. I think things have changed a lot now that schools have realized they are going to be better off taking advantage of the technology instead of fighting it.
Reply
Chris Doak
3/2/2014 07:41:58 am
I don't think that we are preparing students as well as we need to. My whole time at Central I used a smartboard once. Like you teachers used it to show powerpoints on them. I think that times are changing and as students and teachers there are going to be a vastly change in how we use technology and how we use it to prepare students.
Reply
Kennedy Seifert
3/3/2014 12:23:17 am
Chris,
Reply
Carl Richburg
3/4/2014 09:25:38 am
Smartboards are very efficient when used effectively. I'm amazed more schools don't use them, when they actually have them in their classroom. Seems like a waste of taxpayers money to have technology and not use it correctly.
Reply
Gary Jones
3/9/2014 02:54:22 pm
you're right chris i think teachers dont get the funds to do what they would like to do. If they were able to get what they wanted then every teacher would want the latest and greatest technology and for some schools that isn't an option and they have to stick with the books and white board. .
Reply
Dustin Ray
4/22/2014 03:49:18 am
Chris,
Reply
Shari Harrington
3/2/2014 01:00:42 pm
When I was taking undergrad courses at UCM, the only class that incorporated technology was a class on behavior management, and even then, the technology that was used seemed to be used for the sake of using it. We had to manage a disruptive student in our classroom on Second Life. I would've preferred to complete that exercise in the actual classroom. I had a similar experience my first semester in graduate school because I felt as though I was taking a technology course instead of a literature course. I was happy for the exposure, but I wanted to learn about the literature instead. My brother graduated with his Phys Ed degree a couple of years ago, and I noticed he had a lot more technology knowledge than I did. We only graduated 2 years apart. I remember hearing him show me the apps he learned about and practiced using on his iPad in class and being jealous because I wasn't taught those things and found useful application. But I do realize that technology is always evolving, and I'm responsible now to learn technology and how to incorporate it.
Reply
Shari
3/2/2014 10:58:47 pm
Overall, I think preparation may be getting better, but I think it may also depend on the discipline.
Reply
Kennedy Seifert
3/3/2014 12:18:39 am
I do not think teachers are being prepared for the technology we have now. An example is one of my grad classes, the teacher just started this semester as her first grad class. Our syllabus states what assignments are due when and to turn them into myCMU. So I did the assignment and went to turn it in and noticed there was no section to turn anything in. No assignments made. In the next class period all of us students were questioning her on where to turn in the assignment and it turns out that she had no idea that she had to make a section for every assignment, nor did she have any idea how to do that. So as a class we helped her create the sections. She also had no idea how to send an email from her eagle mail. I asked her to email me the link to this article we discussed in class and I had to help her because she did not know how. This was just a simple task and yet she was never taught how to do it. I do understand that she just began teaching here and using myCMU but these things were very simple and basic tasks that a teacher should have been able to navigate around and figure out how to do.
Reply
Kim Holifield
3/5/2014 01:36:01 am
Wow... I have a hard time navigating online courses, so props to you for being able to help your instructor figure that out. It's a shame that she had to go into the course unprepared for how to do the things that were needed for her students' success. And I agree that it wasn't her fault, she just wasn't taught.
Reply
Jacqui Cappuccilli
3/4/2014 02:19:41 am
I think that teachers are being prepared as well as they possibly can be. Technology is always changing so it is hard to keep up, but for the most part teachers are trying to do what they can to teach others how to use technology. Some people however are just not good with technology so as much as they are taught sometimes they don't retain it as needed. I do believe though that teachers are being taught to the best of their teachers knowledge on technology.
Reply
Lyndsey Talbot
3/5/2014 01:04:14 am
I do agree with Jacqui that technology is changing so fast that it is hard to keep up with. There are many people that do not catch on with technology as quick as others, and in today's world they tend to be looked down upon. They are the ones that do not want to be made fun of and will not ask questions, therefore, never actually learning.
Reply
3/4/2014 11:32:47 am
I believe that the world of education is a very difficult one to prepare people for. This world is very political and can be problematic with knowing how to react to a multitude of external stimuli. Current programs have their hands full with this. I do believe there are districts that put forth more effort to expand their technology and have teachers that are trained and qualified. I worked for a school district right out High School as a computer technician. The computer knowledge 15 years ago was very non existent. Since then teachers are exposed to more techno gadgets in their own lives and that transfers to their school work as well. I feel schools are doing an adequate job preparing current teachers for what is out. I am unsure that districts are providing for continuing education with regards to new equipment. In my experience they install the new equipment and may have a quick web training then cut the teacher loose. Some of these software and hardware goodies could use a full day of training to see max benefits. This is where people were using smart boards as overhead projectors.
Reply
Lyndsey Talbot
3/5/2014 01:02:08 am
I believe that there could be more done to prepare teachers at Central Methodist. I cannot speak from the education side, because I was an athletic training major here. But, I do know that I left here only using the SmartBoard a handful of times. There was not much work on using programs like Excel, which are very beneficial to professionals. I think that this university needs to find a way to prepare every student with computer skills that are needed in the professional world. However, on the flip-side, I think that many students are told or taught to use these forms of technology, but do not take them seriously. Many students just try to get by and do not realize how important it was until they are faced with a task in the real world. Then, at this point, they tend to blame their education. I can see both sides of this.
Reply
Kim Holifield
3/5/2014 01:40:28 am
I think you hit a main point by discussing the Excel program. I have watched the younger generation of teachers try to use Excel to do their grades and lesson plans while they struggled as well. And then you have the older generation of teachers that cannot understand why simple writing a number in their paper grade book and using a calculator to figure a score is not good enough. I personally wish I would have been better trained in the basic Microsoft programs for not only education purposes but professional as well.
Reply
Kim Holifield
3/5/2014 01:31:53 am
When I read this, "teacher education programs" means educational degree courses. And the answer from me is no. Through all of the courses I took when pursuing my Bachelor's degree in elementary education, I was not taught how to use or teach with technology. This would have been nice to know coming into teaching, because some of my first days of getting hands-on when student teaching I felt like an idiot when I couldn't figure out how to turn on and navigate the smart board. On the elementary level, the smart board is used daily by both the teacher and students. Also, being able to do tasks such as computing grades in an online grade book and creating lessons plans to be edited and shared among fellow teachers is also a great use of technology that needs to be learned.
Reply
Dustin Ray
3/5/2014 01:46:50 am
I do believe that teachers today are better prepared to use technology. When we are taking college courses, many students are required to make presentations using many different forms of technology to do so. The smart board has changed from the time it first started, and the new boards have many different features. When I was student teaching, I was required to take a smart board training course, that lasted all day. The gentlemen showed us many different features of the smart board. I do believe that there could be more elective classes to show some of this technology to student before the graduate.
Reply
Tyler Reece
3/5/2014 11:46:47 am
Having a course that shows the use of new technology would be very beneficial. I do not think it is possible to have a course for every piece of technology that will be available. I think you are on to something with having electives that way you can become better educated with things you are not as knowledgeable about.
Reply
Travis Tompson
3/8/2014 10:08:41 am
Dustin,
Reply
Travis Tompson
3/5/2014 02:03:19 am
I did my undergraduate at CMU and by no means was I introduced to "new" technology. Sure, we had a class that showed us how to use Microsoft word, excel, and powerpoint. However, this generation has been using these programs since they came out. Honestly, I probably didn't even need that class for I already knew how to do 90% of the tasks assigned. For the other 10%, you can just search in the help bar. Basically, this was a pretty useless class and did not show me anything that I could really use in the teaching field.
Reply
James French
3/8/2014 04:01:50 am
I agree with the app class. I have no idea what is available due to not wanting to displace my life enough to navigate through the offerings for hours on end. I have enough hobbies and other pursuits to spend my time on. If colleges made this mandatory teachers would know more about what is out there to help their children and would also be able to recognize when students are using apps to complete work for them. I am aware there are algebra problem solvers that show students step by step solutions to problems they enter into the app. I believe this has the potential to help them learn if used correctly. However, it also has the potential for them to just use to answer questions and then turn in work forgetting what steps were involved. Understanding all the available resources is very important.
Reply
Gary Jones
3/5/2014 09:33:03 am
I think teachers are being prepared but I don’t think they have the funds to upgrade their technology as they would like to. Some teachers may be into the technology of the 21st century but others like to keep their traditional ways of teaching whether it be a PowerPoint, dry erase board, or handouts. I think the younger generation of teachers would be more inclined to take a step forward and try out new technology. As far as new learning techniques you have to implement what the students like and right now students like technology. So i would say that teacher learning programs are leaning in the direction of learning with technology as a meant to keep up with this younger generation on tech savvy children.
Reply
Gino Bullock
3/5/2014 10:53:51 am
While I disagree with teachers being educated, I totally agree with the funding issue. I think with more money and or better funding we could substantially increase teachers knowledge of technology and how its used. In every facet of life money is important and its no different in the educational field.
Reply
Gino Bullock
3/5/2014 10:48:37 am
I think that teachers are not really being prepared like they should for the use of the upper echelon of technology. There is so different forms of technology that can be used for education I am not sure if teachers can really be prepared. Things Like twitter, and Facebook can be used for example to help reach and communicate with students that would normally be unreachable. I do think however that although Technology changes teachers can and need to be better taught and informed.
Reply
Tyler Reece
3/5/2014 11:37:11 am
I do not think teachers are prepared fully for what they are going to use while in the classroom. Self-education is the way of the world now it seems when beginning our careers. Technology is changing so rapidly that it is nearly impossible to cover these things. Changes are made from year to year and not only that but not every classroom has these new sources of technology so it would be difficult to replace things that are already being taught. I think that even if a teacher isn't prepared they should be able to learn and develop these skills on their own.
Reply
Shari Harrington
3/9/2014 11:00:12 am
I agree with your point that self-education is the way when it comes to technology. Luckily, there are staple pieces, like SmartBoards, that, even though they aren't in every classroom, they are in many, and once you've used one, you can use it, unlike many other forms of technology like iPads that change with every version and software update that require some self-teaching with each change--not a lot of self-teaching but some.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Class BlogThis blog is for class conversations for Ed 514 at Central Methodist University. We invite input form other teachers about how they use technology in their classrooms. Archives
March 2015
Categories
All
|