EDCI 320 ch 4

The chapter starts by reiterating that teachers should think about how to teach a topic not just teach how they were taught. The times are a changing and we must be current with the times. This chapter consists of the six NETS-S Standards: 1. Basic operation and concepts, 2. Social Ethical and human issues, 3 technology productivity tools, 4. technology communications tools, 5. Technology research tools, 6. Technology problem solving and decision making tools.
One of the main ideas of this chapter was that teachers couldn’t expect students to know how the technology works when they show up to class. Education of the technology must be apart of the class. Teachers must bring all students up to the understanding of how to problem solve and trouble shoot.
I read these strait forward statements of as a teacher you must do this. I look back at the definition of technology and I wonder why are there no techniques described in this book? New ideas of how to engage students? Why is it an authoritative approach to subjugating teachers to sell computers? What if the technology is not a machine? What if the technology is having the kids stop, think, and plan their next move? Ways of thought, techniques, and skills have been the technologies that have been passed down for generation to generation. Isn’t the non-mechanical technology the greatest technology we have?
We put men into space on the Apollo 13 mission with old bolts cheap rubber and thick tiles. This crowning achievement, a demonstration of mans superiority over nature used mans first invention (fire) to get him to the moon. When this all went array it was thought and techniques of problem solving that saved the day.
So, when I incorporate technology into my classroom I will not limit my ideas of technology to computers and machines. I will place the skills, techniques, and ways of thinking at the foundation of teaching. Giving the students the opportunity to grow.
I have taken the liberty of revamping the NETS-S standards to be written as they should be. Students will be able to identify and solve problems in life that occur during everyday use (not just hardware and software). Demonstrate knowledge of current changes in their world and the effects it has on the workplace and society. Students will exhibit lead and ethical behaviors. They will use tools when necessary for a project when it betters them. They will learn to work together, discuss, analyze, and communicate in groups and as individuals.
Why is this book so hell bent on making everything involves computers even if it doesn’t need to? By the definition given if a machine creates a lower standard of living and takes more time and energy, then it would not be a technology.