In my quest to determine my teaching philosophy, I spoke to a kindergarten teacher about technology in the classroom. I asked many questions about her outlook on technology as well as her wish-list of what would make her job more effective. From that information I was able to formulate my personal view on technology in the classroom.
I started the conversation by obtaining a foundation of how much technology is available. It seems that different schools within the district have different technology. In this room there is access to the school computer lab at least once a week, three computers that are available to the students in the classroom, a television, VCR, DVD, and CD player, as well as one overhead projector.
Now that I knew what technology was available I inquired about how she utilized it. In this Kindergarten classroom the television is used during quiet time for “Between the Lions”, a television program that helps with phonetics. The CD player is one of the most important parts of the day. It is used during morning activities. Songs are played that help learn letter sounds, the days of the week, and all about money. This teacher does not use the over head projector much. She tries to teach difficult concepts with tangible objects instead of using the overhead. Student computers are used during center time. Since there are only three available the teacher has a rotation so that every student can get equal time on the computer.
When discussing the available technology she had answered some of what students learn with the technology in her classroom, but I wanted to see if there was more. It turns out that at this age level technology is not used for purely academic purposes. She said that in addition to learning content in a different manner it also helps with motor skills. Fine-motor skills are continually developed with the computer mouse and keys. They also begin to learn the layout of a keyboard, which is important as they get older. Videos and CDs enhance any lessons that are already in place, especially science. They allow the students to see things that they would not normally see. Five and six year olds are be better able to understand a science concept if they see it happening, instead of relying solely on a book and the child’s imagination to understand the concept.
Important but difficult to implement, that is the administration’s view on technology. She said that it was not that they do not want to have the latest technology made available to the students, it is just financially difficult. She did say if she could have any one piece of technology in her room it would be a projector that is hooked up to the computer. There is one in the school, but it is for the entire schools use.
After the interview I had a chance to think about what the teacher had to say about technology. I realized that she may not have the most idea technology in her classroom but she uses it in the most effective manner possible. It made me want to have that attitude as a teacher. I may not have the latest and greatest but using what I have to best of its ability is important. I also became reflective on how much technology has changed within my own lifetime. I think that it is important to realize that creating students who know how to utilize the current technology is not the job of the teacher. Instead it is our job to create broad thinkers. We need to help mold the next generation to realize that nothing is out of their reach and teach them to be adaptable to inventions that we cannot yet imagine.
