The dangers of technology as I see it :This blog is inspired by the podcast on cell phones...YIKES!

First of all, let me say that I have been trying to post my blogs in video form.  I just realized that I'm having difficulty because my files are too large.  I guess the rumors are true: I talk too much.  If I can figure out how to use imovie, I will edit my videos and post them.  This will make my dialogue a little repetitive, but please humor me because I don't want my hard work to be in vain.  

Before I start commenting on our reading/listening, I'd like to make a few remarks about my experience in creating a video blog, although it is not yet posted.  Creating the video was an uncomfortable experience that raised several questions in regards to the appropriate use of technology within the classroom: when is it beneficial and when is it extraneous?  I think, in terms of creating a blog, using video is appropriate because it enhances the blogging experience.  Blogging is a social, communicative activity and video heightens the success of communication.  Emotions that were once lost in a sea of words are now better conveyed, as facial expression can be seen and inflection can be heard. Blogging is also a casual activity, and therefore the use of a social tool such as a webcam is appropriate.  However, I would hesitate before using a webcam to express my ideas within a more formal academic context, and here's why: When we use social tools such as blogs and webcams, we tend to use social rather than academic language.  We do not concern ourselves with word choice and grammar especially when creating a video where movement and intonation supersede vocabulary's role of accurately conveying information.  This being said, I wonder if the creation of the digital classroom will eventually render academic language obsolete.  If anything, it is a risk that teachers must consider.

I also wonder if viewers of my video blog are less concerned with my opinions than they are with the shocking color of my living room walls or the fact that I'm wearing a ratty t-shirt.  Can technology be too flashy?  Too distracting.

Definitely, one thing is clear: before integrating technology into the classroom, teachers MUST make sure it is being used appropriately.  The usage of LitWorlds is an example of appropriate integration of technology.  LitWorlds serves to enhance the learning experience of students.  It lends itself well to the concept of universal design, as it helps students build background knowledge and make connections.  It does not water down content, but makes it more accessible and more engaging.  

I wish I could say the same for those cell phones.  I still cringe just thinking of that podcast.

The podcast on integrating cell phone usage into classroom curriculum still has me, and now those around me, talking.  I introduced the issue at work, and it has become quite the hot topic.  I think the manner in which these teachers used cell phones is an example of technology for technology's sake.  Too often now I see teachers use technology not as a tool to enhance or scaffold curriculum (which is precisely how it should be used), but as a motivator or a flashy gimmick.  At times, it seems as if technology is being used by teachers and parents alike as a babysitter.  Kids, increasingly restless as they are products of a hyper tech-centered world, are pacified by the comforting glow of the television, the computer screen, and now the cell phone. Remember that one of the teachers said she was inclined to incorporate cell phone use into her curriculum because students were already using their phones in her class!  I have one thing to say to that: "YIKES!"  That is a huge management issue, and to solve it the teacher is pacifying students by allowing them to use the very tool that distracts from her teaching.  I hope her classroom is not a disaster as a result, because her authority has, without a doubt, been undermined by her own assignment.   This teacher is not using technology to enhance content.  She is using technology simply as a motivation tool.  In no way does cell phone use complement the study of imperialism.  All this strategy does is make an assignment less challenging.  Instead of worrying about the rules of academic language and the writing process, students get to engage in the natural and comforting process of leaving a voicemail.  They don't need to practice that anymore!

I can refute many arguments for the benefit of this practice.

To those who say we have to meet students in "their world:" The social and academic worlds have always been separate.  Sometimes its necessary to ask kids to leave their world because its exercises their ability to adapt.  

To those who say it increases motivation: Yes, but it's spoiling kids.  We can't give them too many treats, and if we only expect them to do work if they are provided with a treat, what does that say about our expectations for today's students?  

To those who say it enables students to practice public speaking: Leaving a voicemail and public speaking are two totally different activities.  End of story.

I do love using technology as a tool in the classroom.  I do believe that, like all institutions, schools need to adapt to an increasingly technological world.  However, we have to be careful in how we use technology.  It's a tool.  It's not a crutch, it's not a babysitter, and its not a gimmick.  If the lines between academic realm and social realm become too blurred, we are in danger of falling into social regression.

-Heather Bezdecheck