I must confess I was surprised to
see that our last class of the summer included not one remnant of technology,
besides the artificial lighting and the frigid air being pumped into the
classroom. Our meeting today was entirely discussion-oriented and involved a
panel of former MAC students who shared their experiences with teaching with a
focus on their utilization of technology in the classroom. Something I
struggled to wrap my mind around was the variation of access to technology
amongst the teachers speaking today. I
can’t recall specifics but I know a story was told involving a novice teacher
whose computer failed three weeks into the school year and was basically
informed it would not be fixed. Interesting. I guess, with all my apprehension
about technology, I should be careful what I wish for! Along that line of
thought, I really appreciated the comment made by one of the former MAC
panelists about the chalkboard being the only other entity in the classroom on
which she could depend. Hearing these confessions actually makes me feel more
comfortable with the idea of technology in the classroom. Prior to the
discussion today, I felt a bit ostracized by my hesitation to embrace
technology, almost to the extent that it seemed I was the only one who was
aware of its unpredictable nature. But after hearing from teachers in the field
that, despite the pressure from the top to create a model of the 21st
century classroom within your four walls, sometimes it just doesn’t work and
you’ve got to go with your backup plan, well, that made me feel a bit more
secure, or maybe it’s better to say it made me feel a little less crazy.
Everyone knows technology is unreliable and now we finally got the chance to
talk about what to do when your plans collapse. I appreciated hearing the other
side of the technostory. I think bringing in guest speakers is a great idea for
this course and I’m excited to see more of it in the fall!
