Digital Technology in the Classroom

As I begin to navigate a unit of work called Digital Learning and Teaching for my Masters degree, my lecturer has asked my classmates and I to explore some questions about our own positions on ICT use in the classroom. She has asked us to examine our values and beliefs surrounding technology use in education, something which I have never given a great deal of thought to before.

My very first emotional response to studying this course Digital Learning and Teaching was not necessarily negative, but I definitely experienced a feeling of apprehension. This is only because I am not particularly skilled with using technology myself and I wasn't yet sure of what the course would entail. I am not, however, a closed minded type of person; I am open to everything and I don't believe that I generally have set ideas about things. I'm looking forward to learning more about technological pedagogy.

I feel that ICT is generally used inefficiently in most classrooms and often serves more as a hindrance than a help. For example, working as a teacher aide at a high school I have noticed that many students who use a laptop to complete their work are constantly on games. The teachers and myself redirect them to the learning, but they usually just switch right back to the games as soon as we move away. I haven't yet observed teachers using technology in a creative or innovative way.

I myself have never been particularly creative with my own ICT use in the classroom; I do tend to use a lot of PowerPoints and short video clips mixed in with student-centred activities, so I am looking forward to learning new, effective ways to incorporate ICT.