Journal #6

Journal #6
Social Justice: Choice or Necessity?
Summary: This article is mainly about using and not using technology in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning. But it focuses more on instructional technology than any other type. The article states “students must be technologically fluent and able to use technology to solve problems with various sources of information, create new representations of their knowledge, and enhance their learning through the diverse strategies afforded by technology… at least 80% of all hobs in the next two decades would require workers to be technologically fluent, this means if workers are not well prepared in using technology to succeed in the workplace, they will be forced to take low-paying jobs with limited potential for advancement.” Therefore the social justice issue is that not all teachers are using technology in their classroom and it could potentially be setting up our future generations for failure!
Question #1: Do you think it is the teachers place to decide whether to use technology in the classroom or not? No, I don’t think it’s the teachers place or choice! I think all teachers should have to take a mandatory class that teaches them how to use computers, such as the EDU 422 class that I am in now. Technology is changing so much and if we have teachers out there who aren’t up to date on it, then we’re going to have students who aren’t up to date on it as well. We need technology in the classroom, as much as possible.
Question #2: Why do teachers not use technology in the classroom? I think it’s because they don’t know how to use it themselves so how are they going to teach it to the children. This is why we need computer teachers, not the same multi subject teacher that they have everyday who takes the students to the computer lab and lets them explore. They need a real teacher who will teach them the basics of the computer and then progress on the topic every year until they know everything they need to, to succeed in life. Just because the teachers doesn’t know how to use technology doesn’t mean the students shouldn’t suffer.