Ch. 10/Epilogue

How does this reading impact your thinking about technology’s role in teaching and learning?

As I read this chapter and epilogue, I was able to bring what I have read in previous chapters and put the information all together. This chapter allowed my thinking about technology’s role on teaching and learning to be complete. This chapter didn’t necessarily impact my thinking a whole lot, but I was able to relate all the big shifts to change that is needed to be made by all future and present educators.
Some of the shifts that I found extra important were shifts 4, 6, 7 and 8. Shift 4 is self explanatory, the title itself—Teaching is Conversation, not lecture. As the elementary level this is definitely important, but a main area teachers or professors need to work on this shift is at the college level. Even though we are adults, I feel as if professors don’t have the need to allow our opinion through conversation such as discussion. I know from personal experiences I earn better through conversation/discussion because I am able to process that material better. The next shift, shift 6: Readers are no longer Just Readers is important because it is where the fundamentals of writing develop through a student’s reading skills. I know for me I don’t enjoy reading that much and therefore my writing skills sometimes suffer.
I liked how the author mentioned shift seven because I was able to relate. For my Education 200 class, I am required to make an online portfolio, which allows easy access. Now, shift 8: Writing is No Longer Limited to Text is a big shift that many teachers should try to incorporate into their classroom. Yes, students should engage through writing in text, but also through audios and videos. Audio and videos will also enhance the student’s social and young professional skills. Overall, this chapter allows my thinking to be more comprehensible because I was able to put all the information together.


What will do you do differently as a future teacher as a direct result of this new thinking?

As a future teacher, I will incorporate these big shifts into my classroom to the best of my ability. I will definitely focus on interacting with my students through discussion. I believe this will allow the students to understand the material well as well as me to obtain input from my students. Another thing I will definitely focus on is allow my students to expand on their writing skills through audio and video.