Educational Technology Philosophy

 

The objective of education is to enrich the lives of students while creating articulate, expressive thinkers, and lifelong learners. Students should be socially responsible, spirited, and active citizens of the world. A great teacher understands education is about teaching students, not subjects. I think education is about engaging students in their learning, and maximizing the potential of each and every child. Educational technology is about providing students with opportunities to be challenged and still succeed.  As a teacher I recognize that technology has created new needs and new requirements of what it means to be literate in today’s world.

Reconstructivism is the philosophy resource that I most closely identify with.  I believe the improvement in society results from continuous change and change can be represented through the educational process.  With the advancements in society there will be a requirement for more education.  As I think about the way we now obtain information versus when I used to go to the book shelf to get the encyclopedia to look up information or go to a library to get books.  Now students have access to a world of information via the internet and technology advancements.  The curriculum should encourage students to use and apply what they learn.  Reconstructivism philosophy believes students should be exposed to both time in the classroom and the other half spent learning outside the school structure.  I believe that an effective teacher should capitalize on the students’ feelings during the learning process to accomplish the learning objectives.  By utilizing the reconstructivism philosophy teachers can help learners increase their awareness of significant social and political issues so that they can have an impact on these situations.

 

As I reflect on my own education I can remember one of the best and one of the worst teachers I had as a student.  My fourth grade reading  teacher, was one of the best teachers I’ve had.  She was well organized, professional, and kept us engaged by assigning project based work.  Each six weeks we would get a novel to do research and project studies on.  At the end of the six weeks we would make presentations based on a project assignment.  I always enjoyed reading and working on the projects because it was self-paced.  I could take as little or as long as I wanted to work on the various assignments.  She also provided us with rubics which helped guide us on what was expected from the various parts of the projects.  The teacher was so helpful and caring to the students.  She would offer assistance before school and after if students needed help with projects or just to use the computer.  One of my worst teachers was my fourth grade math teacher.  He was very unorganized and had no control over the class.  Students constantly disrupted the lesson and disrespected him.  Much of our classroom time was spent waiting on him to get students settled so class could begin.  His class work mostly consisted of worksheets and lots of busy work at the desk.  I had a difficult time understanding his course work and was not successful on a lot of the math assessments.

 Students must be given the opportunity to maximize their potential and they should be inspired to do so.  Education is a collaborative effort that needs leadership and a strong vision.  As an educator it is my goal to maintain high expectations and strive to see students excel.