Thread:Lisianngreen/@comment-48040245-20210124220325

Personal Philosophy on Educational Technology

My educational technology philosophy is rooted in caution and moderation, while I believe technology can serve many positive functions in the classroom. I feel that we should not rush into bombarding our educational system with every new piece of technology that is created. Technology has undoubtedly made our classroom more efficient and more entertaining places. Technology has allowed teachers to bring facts and curriculum to life with things such as videos, argument reality, and the internet. These things are typically viewed as positive and progressive. I argue that we should be exercising more caution and skepticism before incorporating so much technology.

With the influx of online learning graduate, degrees have been made available to more people than ever before. My concern is that; much of today’s educational research is being conducted too hastily in an attempt to meet degree requirements. For every pieces of research that supports the use of technology in education, there is another piece of research that shows that educational technology is inefficient when compared to other instructional methods. In 2013, Fowler-Finn stated that “Web-based learning only has a medium impact on student learning.” Tried-and-true methods such as classroom discussion, problem-solving teaching, and vocabulary programs are shown to have a much greater impact on student learning along with our cultures modern view on educators.

The technology itself has many flaws; which we should be apprehensive about. The internet is a highly unregulated tool, through which much manipulation and corruption can be accomplished. Media outlets are free to develop opinions as facts. Propaganda groups have free rein to indoctrinate whoever is willing to listen. Hackers and other tech people have infiltrated programs designed for young children to encourage suicide and dangerous activities.

Lastly, I worry that technology is steering us away from an educational philosophy that has been tested and proven successfully for our society in the past. The people who went through that system of education are the ones who are discovering and designing the technology we rely so heavily on today. Those achievements stem from the old system of education. The system which emphasized intellectual ability and development over methodology, while, we can and should use some of this technology as tools viewing technology as the future of education is dangerous.

Learning and education are concepts designed by the human’s mind. Therefore, it naturally makes sense that humans make the best educators. It also means that emphasizing the human condition in our education system is more effective than merely finding easier ways to deliver facts. Ultimately, I worry that the emphasis on technology and education will promotes laziness, social isolation, and extremist viewpoints all of which are contradictory to the age-old morals of education.

Reference

''Fowler-Finn, T.(2013). Leading Instructional Rounds Education. Cambridge. MA:     ''

Harvard Education Press  