I have noticed a new trend of steering away from traditional ways of teaching and moving towards more advanced and innovative methods. Researchers have found that there have been positive benefits when students were given math activity simulations (Boss, 2011). In particular, the use of technology assisted with creativity, research skills, and higher-order thinking (Boss, 2011). Working with grade school students, I have noticed that a majority of the second and third graders' math homework is available only online using math programs and sites. At first it surprised me that teachers were using these methods in elementary schools but then I had to take a step back and realize that this is a different generation. Nowadays computers, tablets, and other resources are more readily available for students. And in turn, students are very knowledgable about technology more so than ever.
I believe that technology should be used as a way to enhance a student's learning but it shouldn't be the basis of their learning. Technology can be a great tool for a student to demonstrate their creative thinking and a way that they may illustrate their understanding of a topic. However, I believe that we shouldn't solely rely on technology to teach the kids and instead still use traditional ways of teaching. Although I am not necessarily too keen on the idea of social media usage in the classroom, but I am becoming more open to the idea of the use of educational technology as another method of teaching if used for the right purposes.
Source: Boss, S. (2011). Technology integration: A short history. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-history
Camille, similarly to you I did not realize that kids from the new generations are emerged in the technology world. Since in my generation we did not use technology as much, I used to think that most of the teaching techniques used in the past remained effective. It was until I started working in a classroom when I realized that education has changed, which is positive because it has to evolve to adapt to the needs of the students. We have similar ideas. I also believe that technology is just a tool to enhance learning, but it should not be the main way of teaching. Even in the article it was mentioned that technology is only recommended for complex material, but not for simple tasks because it is ineffective at that point. I still believe that when it comes to teaching having face-to-face interaction is better than interacting with a computer.
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