Educational Philosophy (Revised)

Reflective Blog #7

During the era of the 19th Century of the well-educated America manifest itself during those times with advances in medicine which speared population growth in the western world. The addition of the railroad, and other machines for work, home, and entertainment (film was also developed then which gave birth to television) developed in this era we are products of. Mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, electricity, and metallurgy were the foundation of these advancements which are hard to grasp for a lot of the short attention span persons nowadays. Because the emphasis put on education isn't close to the emphasis of the need for economic stability now. Because times have changed since then and we’re literally in a New Age, we have to develop an educational system that is better, or more up to date with the times.

I recognize the interactions between learners, teachers, education and technology and the rethinking of these interactions as dictated by innovations in educational technology. The field of both education and technology are constantly changing and as such, so is my philosophy of educational technology. However, a fundamental component of my changing philosophy is the belief that educational technology has great potential for shaping the way we learn, think and communicate; without being limited to any particular demographics. Given the prevalence of mainstream, accessible, media based educational technologies; I believe that the purpose of educational technology is to facilitate greater understanding of the world and greater communication between its students, revolutionizing the traditional way we view teaching and learning.

For me, educational technology is best defined as comprising of the media based tools through which we teach and learn. Educational technology must be approached not as a novelty but rather as a tool possessing great potential; potential that must be needs to be realized in order to be effective. Educational technology is much more than a superficial tool; it can have biases, limitations and extensions that must be considered before using it in the classroom. I believe that educational technology should be woven into the “multi literacies” of the classroom rather than being treated as a foreign object and paraded out from time to time. Educational technology reaches its potential in the classroom by being integrated into everyday teaching and learning. The manner in which educational technology is used is greater than the tools themselves, and I thrust that as teachers gain more knowledge about how to use these tools, they will be able to enhance the classroom experience for all learners.

It is imperative for all teachers to learn how to implement educational technology beyond basic mechanics, by learning the pedagogical foundations that should guide its use. Educational technology has the potential to increase accessibility for students with disabilities as well as provide a greater variety of formats by which students can present and learn information. This enhanced accessibility and appeal is not only at the core of my philosophy of educational technology, but also a fundamental component of my teaching philosophy. In working with students with learning disabilities, I have seen firsthand how educational technology has been the great equalizer for these students and their ability to learn as integrated members of the classroom.

In conclusion, educational technology represents a cultural shift in our society and its increasing presence is indicative of a shift in teaching and learning practices. For better or for worse, educational technology is presenting teachers and students alike with unique opportunities to transcend the boundaries of space and time in order to access knowledge and supplement their understandings. Similarly, educational technology affords increased forums in which to communicate and receive feedback as well as present information in multimodal ways that appeal to various senses. Like a supernova, the Internet caused an explosion of a myriad of technological opportunities and in turn, forced the definitions of teaching, learning, technology and education to be redefined within these new parameters. However, unlike a supernova, these technological opportunities did not fade with time, but rather have increased in prevalence and have proven to be flexible and dynamic, making “traditional” teaching methods appear rigid and inflexible in their offerings. My approach is to facilitate a wide variety of computer-based technology for both professional and instructional use in hopes to gain a sense of all that is possible using technology in teaching and concrete ideas about how to infuse technology into teaching.