Future of Instructional Computing

How does this class apply to the future of instructional computing?  For me I think just like anything in history it's important to know where we've come from to help understand and predict the future.  That is what watching the first two parts of the Triumph of the Nerds has done for me.  Considering our history technology isn't really that old, but look at how many times it has already changed.  Technology changes fast and it's easy to get left behind if you don't keep up with it.  Technology is in a constant change.  Personally, I'm really grateful that typewriters and the old word processors have been replaced by computers and PC's.

I've used computers during  my professional career, but I've never given a thought about the "technology" part of it nor the hardware.  I thought it was interesting when we looked at the insides of various computers in class the other night.  It was noticeable to me that the computer I opened up was older than some of the others.  Mine didn't have nearly as many components inside.

How does all of these changes effect instruction?  As I already mentioned we have to keep up with technology.  As new curriculum is introduced into schools more and more of it is technology based.  This can include textbooks on line, projects, videos, documents, and assessments.  The curriculum also includes different types of media.  For example, I just joined a project fairly new to our district using iPod's in the classroom.  I used them in the classroom the other day, and you can not believe how engaged the students were.

While I'm really excited to have technology and that I'm able to use it in my classroom, I think there are some down sides to technology in the classroom.  First, keeping the technology current.  As already mentioned technology is constantly changing and so is the technology students have away from school.  If they are using a newer version of an iPod at home, they may not be so inclined to want to use the older version at school.  For example, the iPod's I'm using at school are iPod touches, but if I had joined this project earlier they were iPods, but not the iPod touches.  Also technology isn't cheap so some districts may have difficulty with getting various types of technology in their schools.  Finally, technology shouldn't replace "hands on" work.  Have you ever been somewhere when the cash register wasn't working and the person behind the counter couldn't make change on their own?  Or how about the person that can only read a digital clock?  Just like everything else we need a balance between the old and the new (look at history).    

Computer History for Tammy Borowski

I don’t remember a lot about my early computers.  What I do remember was that my first computer experience began with a big, clunky computer.  That computer was loud and had limited functions.  It used floppy disks and we used a huge dot matrix printer for printing.   The next one I remember was hooked to a mainframe system and it was used for data processing.  I worked in an industry that we had to create and print airway bills of lading.  Each bill of lading had 8 carbon copies and came with an air bill number already printed on it.  The computer made the data processing much easier, since we were able to enter the “correct” information before it was printed.  When the computers were down, we had to do the same work on typewriters.  Needless to say it took much longer to do, as well as many mistakes were made.  Even then it was amazing how quickly we relied on computers.

Then I got a personal computer both at work and at home.  With both computers I had the capability to save to floppy and hard disks, however, they both used DOS operating systems.  My first home computer was a HP 360, and the reason I bought my first computer was to do work at home.  I liked having the ability to leave work at a respectable time, and then continuing with my work later that same night in the convenience of my own home.  It wasn’t until years later and another job, that I had a computer that had Windows.  When I first used Windows I couldn’t believe the difference.  I no longer had to type in the commands; instead it was just a few clicks with the mouse.

After Windows came the internet.  Having access to the Internet was and still is interesting in the workplace.  When the Internet was first being introduced in my office I had access because I was a manager.  At that time it was limited access, but over time that changed.  Some things about the Internet made my job easier, but other things about it made it more difficult.  It was nice to able to find information relatively easy, however, it made “managing” more difficult.  Since we can now do everything on the Internet, it made managing more challenging.  The more we can do on the Internet, the more we do; however, due to the Internet much more “personal” business happens daily in the business setting.  People spend more time at work communicating with family and friends, shopping, downloading music, etc.

Today I own my third personal computer, a laptop.  I primarily use my laptop to do work or email.  I really don’t spend a lot of “my time” on the computer.  I might go weeks or longer without even checking email, which was before this graduate program.  In many ways in my personal life I’m old school when it comes to technology.  I’m not a gamer, I don’t shop or bank online, just to name a few.  However, I do like that I can email family and friends anytime of the day that I want, and the online chatting is starting to grow on me.   

I like that technology in many ways has made daily tasks easier.  I use more technology at work than I do in my personal life and for this reason sometimes I find it difficult to keep up with the latest technology.  I don’t enjoy spending hours sitting in front of a computer at home. 

Week 2

So far the activity I see the most useful in my classroom is Google Docs.  With Google Docs I really like that students can collaborate and work together on a document at the same time.  I also like that I can see what they are doing, and better yet, who is doing what when.  My challenge will be explaining to them how to use Google Docs and getting it set up.  In our school the internet connection isn't always reliable, and we don't have access to computers on a regular basis.  With that being said, I'm already thinking of ways that my students can use Google Docs.  One thought is to have them create a newspaper about positive things in their community.

Some of the other things we have done so far, such as social bookmarking and online storage, I see more useful for me as a teacher and/or a graduate student.  I think this technology is more suited for older learners. 

My least favorite thing so far is the video camera, whether it's Skype, Google video chat, etc.  It's not the capability of using it, actually I like that I can talk to someone while I'm working and it doesn't cost me a phone call.  The part I don't like is that I can be seen.  I always tell my students that my least favorite part of teaching is picture day.  I HATE having my picture taken, and will avoid cameras at all costs.  I like that I can "bring" someone into my classroom via a video chat, but as for me being visible I think I'll use the "chat" feature.