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  Personally, I'm really grateful that typewriters and the old word processors have been replaced by computers and PC's.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).