Reaction to: “the future is getting closer!”
Annie posted a youtube video on this amazing new technology being developed by Microsoft and others. I must admit that even I, someone who has seen quite a few IT fads in my time, was impressed! Annie commented:
“Whilst this clip is about commercial applications imagine what you could do in the classroom…How much fun could this be??”
Yes, I agree entirely about how much fun this could be. The thing that concerns me is the educational value that this might bring (and at what cost). We have seen quite a few new technologies in past decades that were going to ‘revolutionise’ the classroom:
1950’s Overhead projectors
1960’s Audio
1970’s Television / video
1980’s Personal computers
1990’s Enabling software (Word, Powerpoint, etc)
2000’s Interactive whiteboards
However, in my last practicum I saw none of these things in my co-operating teachers classroom. We have to be careful not to confuse the medium with the message. The technology can be as ’sexy’ as you like but unless it is properly integrated into the syllabus content, it will end up not being used.
This has been, and continues to be, the challenge with the introduction of new technology into schools. The technology by itself won’t create a better learning experience for students. Educators have to think very carefully about teacher training, provision of content/resources, quality of instruction and alignment with the curriculum. If these things don’t happen then there is a danger that technology will end up not making any real difference.
