If I were to enter the field of education, I envision myself in a biology lab setting in a smaller private school. I really like being able to connect with the students individually as well as enjoy the variety of grades in one class and the numerous opportunities allotted by the smaller class sizes. I hope to have a projector in the classroom for presentation purposes, but would prefer students to take hand written notes, rather than electronic ones. The school itself would have computer labs for students to work on online assignments as well as laptops which students could take home so they have access to technology. These computers would all have the necessary applications, such as Google Drive, downloaded onto them so the students could still access documents and files while working offline. I hope to only have the students using their computers in class when working on projects or researching. I choose to do this because by having the students actively writing and participating in class they are more engaged and more likely to get the information into their muscle memory. Additionally, it makes it easier for students to move around to engage in kinesthetic activities whereas using a laptop makes the transitions longer and more complicated.
Ideally, I would be working with High School students, however I would also be happy to work with Middle Schoolers and be a guest teacher for Elementary School. With High School students, one of the biggest issues would be using the computer for the correct reasons and not accessing other sites such as Facebook, youtube, and other social media, recreational, and non-class related websites. Another issue is making sure the students are actually learning the information. Having access to an infinite amount of information at ones fingertips can be a dangerous tool for students because they can simply search the answer and record the information without having to really understand why it is the correct response to the question. The ever present mobile devices with internet access also poses a challenge because most students cannot go more than ten minutes without feeling the need to check their phone for any update on social media or notifications on their phones. Therefor, I would incorporate technology time into my classes and give the students a set two or three minutes to check their phones while I was gathering materials or changing topics. The return from this break would also give me the opportunity to do some formative assessments to see what information they retained from the lesson we previously were discussing two to three minutes prior. I think denying students access to their phones can be just as dangerous as allowing them to use it the full time. However, by giving them a set time during the class where they can use their phones, they are more likely to pay attention, knowing that they will be able to check for notifications after a certain time.
One of the biggest concerns I have for using technology in the classroom is really ensuring that all students have the same access. I like the idea of offering students both a hard cover textbook as well as access to an online book with online worksheets for two main reasons: the first is that by having two books they can leave the textbook at school so they always have a copy of the book at school, and the second so that while they are at home, or school, students can have the material read to them and they can use the online worksheets to quickly identify which areas they are having trouble picking up the material and what topics they are confused about. However, during the classroom time and setting, I am a firm believer in using paper and pens or pencils to take notes rather than typing. I want my students to feel comfortable using technology and to understand how to use it for the science courses I would be teaching, however I do not want them to become reliant upon its presence in order to succeed. Technology offers students with different learning preferences to be able to learn the material in whichever way works best for them. It also allows students to gain more information about topics which are very interesting to them. Additionally, technology gives students the opportunity to see people who like them who have succeeded in their dream careers. The most important thing I think we can teach students is how to use technology the correct way, and how to live without it.
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