Our
class had the privilege of speaking with Clarence Fisher who is a teacher in Snow Lake
“Done
dealing with the days that EdTech is optional”
Clarence began his discussion by sharing
with us a little bit about his current teaching job. He teaches in a K-12
school (the only school in the community) with population of around 145 kids. Clarence
says his biggest issue in his classroom is that fact that education is in
transition. It used to be static, unchanging and now teachers are on the front
line of globalization. Now, education needs to be passion-based
teaching/learning, engagement and very mobile.
“I
want my kids to create and not to consume”
First off, I never thought that technology could
be used so effectively in such a small community, but this discussion definitely
proved me wrong. Clarence does lots of multimedia representation in his
classroom, but also emphasized how we can’t just use technology just because it
is there. Too often we see teachers use the iPad, for example, just because it
is there. Just because its high tech doesn’t mean it immediately increases or
enhances student learning.
It seems Clarence has a good handle of
using technology in the classroom. Just because you are in a small community
doesn’t mean it is out of your reach! So thank you Clarence for taking time out
of your day for a very informational and inspiring presentation!
Until my next post… JD
It is so true that technology must be used to enhance our lessons, and not just to say we use it. And it is great to see a smaller community taking advantage of the technology available. I have noticed in my past placements it seems the smaller, more rural schools are using it in more effective and efficient ways than the larger schools in a larger community. Is this because they take it for granted? Is it because they have "their ways" that maybe they've taught by for years already and don't want to change, while younger teachers are moving into the rural schools? I don't think it really matters. All that matters is it changes... and soon!
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