Technology Enhances Teacher vs. Threatens Survival
"Friend or Foe?"
From a recent post by Jeff Utecht over at The Thinking Stick blog Goodbye to your job.
Interesting video, but curious response from some of Utecht’s students: "Goodbye to your job!"
Maybe I’m not seeing what his students are seeing, but in my view technology can only enhance the classroom and the teacher; never replace him/her.
I saw this video and I thought to myself: wow! What a cool way to interact with language. Imagine being able to take pictures and so quickly be able to interact with them. Now imagine how that could be woven into a lesson around verbs, or nouns or….whatever you need to teach?
Or what about providing instant feedback to students? If you could put a digital camera or a cell phone on that computer table, and have them instantly interface, how hard would it be to have microphones that pick up conversations so that students could see and manipulate their words…looking for errors, maybe better ways of saying things, pronunciation, grammar mistakes…all hands on. (Language learning that appeals to hands on learners! Wow!)
I see great possibility for classroom and teaching enhancement with this innovation…and the only threat to those who fail to reinvent their style to keep up.
How amazing! The possibilities for education are endless, really. Maybe we could download books directly into the table for our students, provide instant and accessible background information for our lessons, or even word games.
What if students each had their own desk made with this technology? We could eliminate paper texts completely.
Comment by Mrs. Williams — June 5, 2007 @ 10:47 am
I think the teacher can never be replaced. I do believe technologies such as the one shared in the video are great enhancements to a class. I would love to view pictures from my tabletop, no more lost photos or even photo albums.
I agree, this technology has an endless capability to teach and enhance just about any subject. This was a great find and I’m glad you shared it on this blog.
I think this would work great in a corporate setting. I have an opportunity to become a corporate trainer for my company and I would love to learn more about this technology. If you have any new information, please post it.
Thanks,Heidi
Comment by plymouth — June 16, 2007 @ 10:33 pm
I think this technology is great and I’m interested in learning more. Not only is it great in a classroom, but also at home or at the office.
I have an opportunity to become a corporate trainer for my company and I would love to design some lessons around this technology. If you get any new information, please post it.
Thanks, Heidi
Comment by plymouth — June 16, 2007 @ 10:36 pm
Really amazing! Technology can make teaching so much easier and catch and keep a student’s attention more efficiently than classic educational methods.
Comment by Smart English — March 3, 2008 @ 2:46 pm