The Teacher is Important...

Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is most important.” – Bill Gates

 

 

Recently, I was given the quote by Bill Ferriter, "Popular classroom tools...don't excite kids," and I was supposed to tell if I thought it was accurate.  I thought about it for a long time before I was able to make my decision. Of course, kids get used to something & it becomes common, but is it not our job as educators to keep introducing new tools and new ideas so things don't seem so dull?
 

I feel like it is more about the teacher & making sure our lessons are not mediocre so our students remain engaged and excited about what they are learning and doing in class.  I am sure some technology will become “boring” to our students, but luckily (as we’ve learned and are learning) technology is always changing. There are always new apps to add to our learning library, new tools to add more excitement.  My opinion is that educators need to be life-long learners so we can provide what our students need, and so we don’t have students who lose their excitement about learning.

 

When I started thinking more about the quote by Ferriter, I looked for a quote to show my thoughts, and I absolutely loved the quote by Bill Gates.  We always need to remember that technology is only a tool.  We are the motivators.  We are the ones who teach the kids how to work together.  We are the ones responsible for making the content interesting! 

Changing the Rules...Good Idea or No?

Until this year, I have not allowed students to use their phones during class.  I had several reasons for this: texting, looking up answers, using the camera, etc.  However, at the start of this year I decided if they would soon have iPads, they would be able to do many of the same things.  I think a good change would be to allow students access to their phones when they need to look up a definition, Google or research a topic, or when they didn't get all the notes copied off the board and can easily take a picture to use at home, etc.

Although I had always had the rule no phones, I think this change will make things more convenient for both my students and myself. Why should I limit their resources? Instead, I need to work on teaching them how to properly use their device so it is helpful, not a hinder or distraction to their learning.