Technology and Teaching (Ted Talk)

I recently attended an ICT class and heard about all the profound ways technology can aide teaching. Well, I didn’t buy it! Don’t get me wrong I’m not adverse to technology (I wouldn’t of been able to do my degree without it and I tend to ‘Google’ everything) quite the contrary in fact; however, my belief was that modern technology poses the risk of relinquishing the bond and link between teacher and student and no technology can compensate for teacher to student interaction and learning. Education is more than just looking at a computer screen, as a teacher, it is important to offer face to face interaction (Wright, 2013).

My feelings were altered after watching the below Ted Talk which highlights how technology as a whole isn’t a new thing that has recently been introduced, with the invention of IPads and interactive whiteboards, but has been around for many years, such as steam trains, telephones and even books. This Ted Talk inspires me to look at technology in a different way and that without it, teaching in the modern world would be virtually impossible. Technology can assist with teaching in so many ways, from looking at different forms of learning to different assessment tools.

Although technology is increasingly important within teaching it is vital to understand that technology can only do so much and that the teacher’s presence and support is the most effective tool for helping people learn. Teachers need to ensure they understand that technology is merely an aide and if used correctly can be very beneficial to the learning experience; however, teachers should not solely rely on technology to teach.

 

Reflective Writing and Teaching

Donnelly and Neville (2008) tell us that reflective writing is when an occurrence is reviewed and evaluated and what went well and what could be done differently if the situation arose again, is considered. From doing an undergraduate degree in care I have ate, lived and breathed reflection for three years and finally (in my final year if I’m honest) it clicked as to why reflection is important within care; however, since starting my PGCE I am now posed with the question – why is reflection important in teaching?

The experts tell us that reflection helps us to learn and develop from our experiences (Coles, 2004); with Armitage et al (2007) stating that by reflecting, an individual is able to develop their knowledge and skills, review progress, understand errors, increase familiarity and expertise and ultimately better their practice. For those of us who are particularly new to teaching The Centre for the Study of Higher Education (2002) tells us that reflection allows teachers to see where areas of improvement are needed, which can then increase confidence in the classroom. I believe that for me, reflection is a transferrable skill and what I learnt about it in care can be utilised in my teaching, as it ultimately results in the same thing – me looking at what I am doing and seeing if there is any way I can improve.

So, is reflection the all signing, all dancing tool that will make everyone amazing? Well the answer is no, there are (although few) some negatives to reflecting, such as, it can be very time consuming and in the big bad world of employment, do people really have time to sit down and competently write about their thoughts and feelings? This then poses the risk of people just rushing through a reflection and not really recognising the issues and areas which need improvement. Some reflectors can be too judgemental on themselves, resulting in a knock in confidence and some reflectors may find it hard to fully critique themselves and recognise when they require further support (Coles, 2004).

This shows that nothing is ever perfect but take it from someone who moaned for two years about reflecting – they really are important and beneficial to our own personal development. Reflections can help us see things more clearly, learn from others, build on our strengths, work on our weaknesses, have a clear understanding about our own behaviour and be truly honest with ourselves.

Therefore, upon reflection…reflection is vital when teaching! By completing this blog I have taken part in reflecting on my own experiences, and thoughts regarding technology and have established that my initial thoughts about technology taking away from teaching is incorrect, and that it can be a very useful aide to teaching and learning.

 

What else is out there?

To aide me in constructing my own blog, I searched for other blogs relating to care, teaching and further education. I then stumbled upon The Health Foundation’s (THF) blog, which can be found Here. The blog offers opinions and comments from THF staff and also from individuals who have worked/work in healthcare and allows for comments to be left on each post. The blog presents a number of posts relating to topics, such as, whether a sugar tax would really reduce childhood obesity and the implications of stopping the state grant to study nursing or midwifery. I will certainly use this blog within my current learning and into my future career, to keep up-to-date with the areas effecting/benefiting healthcare. I will also advise my learners to familiarise themselves with this blog to gain an insight into working within healthcare. I would also use this blog to create discussions and debates within my lesson. Debates are beneficial for promoting an element of competition and allowing each learner to be involved (Reece and Walker, 2006)

Using Blogs for the First Time in Teaching

For those individuals who are digital immigrants using a blog can be confusing and time consuming. I previously considered myself to be quite digitally literate; however, when I was first told I needed to do a blog, my initial reaction was one of panic...yes I use Facebook, yes I have dabbled in Twitter and have experience of Excel/Word etc. but as for blogs, it is a completely new and unfamiliar territory to me! So what did I do to make this easier...turned to another digital source and looked at YouTube. There were a number of videos offering guidance to people on how to "blog". This helped me with the initial starting point but I found that just generally playing around with the blogging tool within Google (and nagging my fellow peers) I was able to get a very basic understanding of what I was expected to do...and look I've just written my first blog!!!

Reference List

I use a number of reference throughout the blog so thought it would be convenience to store them all in one place.

Reference List

Armitage, A., Bryant, R., Dunnill, R., Flanagan, K., Hayes, D., Hudson, A., Kent, J., Lawes, S. and Renwick, M. (2007) Teaching and Training in Post-compulsory Education. Maidenhead: Open University Press

Centre for the Study of Higher Education. (2002) Assessing Group Work [online]. Available at: http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/assessinglearning/03/group.html (Accessed on 7.10.15)

Coles, A. (Eds.) (2004) Teaching in Post-Compulsory Education. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd.

Donnelly, E. and Neville, L. (2008) Communication and Interpersonal Skills. Exeter: Reflect Press Ltd.

Gillespie, H. (2006) Unlocking Learning and Teaching with ICT. Abingdon: Routledge

Harrison, C., Comber, C., Fisher, T., Haw, K., Lewin, C., Luzner, E., McFarlane, A., Mavers, D., Scrimshaw, P., Somekh, B. and Watling, R. (2002) ImpaCT2: The Impact of Information and Communication on Pupil Learning and Attainment Strand 1 Report. London: DFES

Jeffries, D. (2013) Is technology and the internet reducing pupils’ attention spans [online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/mar/11/technology-internet-pupil-attention-teaching (Accessed on 7.12.15)

Leask, M. (Eds.) (2001) Issues in Teaching using ICT. London: Routledge Falmer

Maier, P. and Warren, A. (2000) Integrating Technology in Learning and Teaching. London: Kogan Page Limited

Passey, D., Rogers, C., Machell, J., McHugh, G. and Allaway, D. (2003) The Motivational Effect of ICT on Pupils: Emerging Findings. London: DFES

Reece, I. and Walker, S. (2006) Training and Learning: a practical guide (6^th Edition). Sunderland: Business Education Publishers

Sharples, M. (2002) ‘Disruptive devices: mobile technology for conversational learning’, International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Lifelong Learning. 12 (5) pp. 504-520

Teaching Ideas. (2015) Podcasting [online]. Available at: http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/multimedia/podcasting-0 (Accessed on 07.01.16)

Wang, M., Shon, R., Novak, D. and Pan, X. (2008) ‘The Impact of Mobile Learning Behaviours and Performance’, British Journal of Educational Technology. 40 (4) pp. 673-695

Wilkins, K. (2014) How new technologies affect student-teacher relationships [online]. Available at: https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/new-technologies-affect-student-teacher-relationships (Accessed on 7.12.15)

Wright, P. (2013) Why new technologies could never replace great teaching [online]. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/jun/20/technology-not-replace-teaching-learning (Accessed on 3.11.15)