Seemless Integration vs. Add-on extension

Let's talk about our good old friend, the pencil. This antiquated, yet effective wriring instrument has many names. Call it No. 2, Dixon Ticonderoga or whatever you like, this usually yellow but sometimes flashier graphite scriber is the preferred tool for nearly all students regardless of age.

Do you remember learning how to use the pencil? Once you mastered its use, what happened next? Did you take any advanced pencil usage classes? No.. of course not. You simply accepted the pencil as an effective resource for learning. There weren't any additional pencil training classes. This new tool was simply fully integrated into every other subject area that you learning. The pencil became a part of everything.

I was in a discussion with other teachers from Long Island, and we were asked a question by our professor. "Would you be able to do your job without technology?" I was the only one in the discussion that answered "yes". A few of the others mentioned how wonderful technology is for engaging students, how it allowed them to express themselves in a new exciting way, and how it opens the classroom up to the world. With this I totally agree, and I prefaced my rationale by saying that I am a huge proponent of technology. Having said that, technology is not necessary for "the job". Even in the year 2009, the job of a teacher can be accomplished without technology. Who can argue against rows of students in that good old teacher centered environment getting knowledge from that one all knowing all seeing center of information - the teacher! Oh how lucky one would be to catch some pearls of wisdom! While technology certainly does enrich the learning (and teaching!) that happens in our classrom, fundamentally the job doesn't absolutely require it.

Sarcasm aside... Technology is often an add-on to learning. It is, in many cases, an extension activity to what has been explored through traditional means. In a progressive classroom, it is a central part of research and expression, and even while this is becoming more common it is still a relative rarity. What we need is for technology to really become integrated in the 21st century classroom. It should be taught as a resource and as a skill, but after that it should be used as a learning tool in every subject. It should be utilized in such a way that students will improve their skill and proficiency with it without feeling that they are practicing. How do students practice using a dictionary? They use it where it is relevant in your classroom explorations.

We really need to take a long hard look at the curriculum and find a place for technology within it. Students shouldn't feel like they are learning technology. They should feel like they are using technology to learn. If we don't do that, we might as well just keep practicing our penmanship for no reason at all.