Journal 6

Article:
"Social Justice, Choice or Necessity?" From: Learning and Leading with Technology
by Colleen Swain and David Edyburn

This article asks us if the use of technology in the classroom is just a personal choice of teaching style that the teacher makes or is a much larger issue. Clearly this issue is about hands-on use of technology by the children and not just use by the teachers to display content. There are several ways that children benefit when they use technology for learning. Social justice comes into the picture because proficiency with technology affects the future success of the student and because all students are not given the same amount and type of access to technology.

Question 1: How do the students benefit by the use of technology in the classroom?
The most obvious way the students benefit is to become more proficient and comfortable with the technology. It is important to use technology that enhances higher order learning in addition to quizzing the kids or practicing mundane skills. All students should have access to concept enhancing technology, not just the brightest. Also, technology can be used to mitigate learning disabilities in some cases by giving them extra work on an area of weakness.

Question 2: Why isn’t it simply a personal choice of the teacher whether to use technology in the classroom?
It’s not simply a personal choice by the teacher to use technology. When the students go to college they will be expected to hit the ground running with certain tools, and proficiency with computers and Internet usage will be assumed. Also, many of the jobs they apply for will be jobs that don’t exist today. That means we can give them the tools to be flexible and competent but we can’t teach them exactly what they will need to know. Technology will surely be one of the tools that will help the most.