A response to “Teacher vs. Computer: Where Educators Stand in the Technology Revolution”

Jacqueline Keane writes in the August 2002 edition of T.H.E. Journal to inform us that computers have become a very powerful tool in education.  Using the World Wide Web, allowing the students to do research online or finding unique lesson plans on the internet has enhanced the classroom atmosphere. 

Keane has worked with fellow teachers to bring the age of technology into the classroom.  Spending many years team teaching and focusing on technology, she has reevaluated and rewritten her philosophy to include technology as the focus of her teaching.  She understands that “creating meaningful learning experiences for students, and giving them the opportunity to learn sophisticated computer and research skills” is essential (p.38).  I believe that allowing students to find research on the World Wide Web engages them in the learning and research process.  Students are encouraged to search scholarly articles in order to have reliable sources and allow them to gain unbiased knowledge of the subject being learned.  I know from my own experience in college that the scholarly resources are better because they are unbiased and are based on facts.

In order to enrich this unbiased research, the teachers are creating presentations of the lessons they are teaching using computer programs.  The presentations help the students absorb the information being taught because it gains their interest by using visuals and teaching styles beyond lecture.  Students are also applying their own research by using computer programs to create activities using the same software as the teachers.  Keane teaches the students “software programs such as, Inspiration, Microsoft PowerPoint, Publisher and Excel” (p. 40).  I think that allowing students to create presentations to share with the class is placing an importance on computer and technology education.  I also believe that students learn more when they present their material to the class.  They are acting as the experts.  The students may not be realizing how important these programs are, but the teachers do and they are providing the opportunities for enrichment.

While providing these wonderful opportunities, Keane still has very high expectations of her students.  They are expected to “collaborate and brainstorm in groups, write and reflect on their new constructed knowledge, use graphic organizers to categorize new ideas, and keep writing portfolios and journals” (p. 40).  She understands that learning takes place every day and that the student’s reflection helps to solidify lessons taught.  I think that journals and portfolios are a great tool in watching the progress of the students.  By asking them to develop these projects and teaching them to be organized students, I can see how Keane is giving them tools they need to be successful students.  By using modern technology in the classroom, she is teaching essential skills needed for their future.

Keane makes the use of computers in her classroom second nature to the students.  Technology is a part of the classroom and it is not an option to be passed up.  I believe it is essential to use computers in as many areas of the classroom as possible in order to encourage solid computer skills necessary for the technology driven world.  The way Keane uses technology to organize her students and find lesson plans is the foundation of her philosophy of technology.  It is inspiring to read about a teacher who will go out on a limb to do what might be unpopular in order to give students the skills needed to live in this modern world.