Addition vs Incorporation

Last Spring I attended a technology conference that primarily addressed and highlighted issues for the K-12 crowd. I went hoping to get some info that would be appropriate for higher ed. What I came away with was a better understanding of what technical expertise incoming college freshman may have.

I address this week’s issue, once again, from the perspective of higher ed. Based on what I have seen at the previously mentioned conference and several others I have attended, I feel that in most cases the inclusion of technology in the K-12 classroom is done with teachers and students in mind. I realize that this may not be the case in every situation but I feel at the very least that there usually is some form of training for teachers and some sense of how these new technologies can expand and assist in the learning process. Once again in higher ed. I feel that this is usually not the case except in specific areas.

I feel that technology in teaching and learning environments can be a most amazing thing so as I look at this week’s reading many things come to mind but two things specifically:

1. My first concern is that not only is technology used to support the teaching and learning that already occurs but that we also take the time to explore new ways of teaching and learning that can be inspired by technology, like many of the examples in chapter 9 of How People Learn. In my experience in higher ed., there are many situations where new methods are overlooked and faculty and staff get hung up on how we continue to do what we are doing, in the same way we have always done it. Technology gets included but nothing really changes and the technology is looked at as an “addition” rather than an “incorporation” into the learning process. My belief is
that the technology should add a new component to learning, perhaps even cause a teacher to rethink a teaching method.
2. My second concern is the inclusion of technology but not using it to its fullest extent. I believe if we are going to include a new technology into our class we should do what is necessary to explore that technology to the fullest. What can it do for our students? How can it facilitate the learning process? What kinds of features does it have and how can they work in this particular class? I have seen folks proclaim to use Blackboard or WebCt, for example, and all they are really doing is using it to email their students when there are so many more things it can do for the student and the teacher. There are so many possibilities that are not even considered.

The inclusion of technology in higher ed. needs to be more fully supported and encouraged. It needs to become a priority to address the needs of these technically savvy students and to open up new ways of learning that will serve students far into their future.