BP3_2009_Lunsford Therese Anti-Teaching

Education is more than teaching to a test, using the right methods, or playing the educational game right. Theories turned techniques like multiple intelligences and brain-based learning are wonderful because they are student focused, but they don't help with problems like administration focusing on dollars and test scores.

There are many problems in education, and there are many possible solutions. It's hard to say we can boil educational issues down to using technology to fix it all. Virtual Learning Environments with course management systems are a great resource for college students, but are they practical for use in public school districts?

Many districts in Michigan use Blackboard, or at least have the technology available for use for educators who want to use it. Some of the issues this educator finds in using technology like Blackboard is that the support for such educational resources is not intrinsic, and the educator has to find training and support outside of the district. The educator often has to pay for the technology training from their own pocket, although this author has been fortunate enough to have training paid by her district for this specific technology. Another issue is finding the time to work with and develop a course within the technologies framework. A resulting issue is that the training taken by educators is lost if the teacher cannot implement the website changes, formatting, and uploads right away, because if it isn't used right away, it's usually forgotten. If an educator is lucky enough to find training, implement it right away, and get a good website up and online, said educator may have a terrific resource tool for the education of his or her students. However, many obstacles must be overcome before that educator can use tools like Blackboard to educate students.

Personal Learning Environments and Web 2.0 tools are other technology resources that could be highly influential on education. The face of education is changing, and should be. Technology changes faster than many of us can keep up with, and education has to keep up with those changes, whether it creates training or monetary issues. Technology itself is not the end all be all of educational issues, however.

Schools are in need of changes to engage and include students in as many ways as possible. Students today

are born technology aficionados, and so it is obvious that we need to start to include technology into education. The question is; what questions do we need to ask? For example, how much technology is enough? What technology programs are best, and how do teachers access them? How do we access the appropriate training we need, as educators, so that we are at least as knowledgeable as our students?

Technology like Blackboard can be very useful in education, and should be available to all schools. While Blackboard is a resource that requires a user to pay to use it (often paid for by districts), resources should be developed that don't require payment. Resources that could be used and shared, as well as free training resources and assets would be requirements for all districts, specifically poorer ones. Resources like picture editing software, community blog and wiki resources would be optimal to include as necessities in todays schools. Every classroom should have an Elmo (or similar technology) and a projector, as well as at least one computer for the teacher to use to the display information on. Classroom technology inequality causes disparities in education in economically disadvantaged areas, which is a problem currently, and has been for years. How can every student truly have an equal education when some students are held back by a lack of equity in something as simple as technology?

Technology is not the answer to every educational problem in existence. While technology equity is important for all students, and technology is required for modern classrooms, but technology alone cannot run a classroom. Passionate teachers and administrators are required to acquire and use technology to make a classroom great. Students must also decide to take an active role in their own educations, and embrace the newly vamped classrooms. Technology alone in not the only answer, but if it can cause connections between student and teacher, content and curriculum, then it is vital. If used correctly, technology can be the tool that causes students to take the drivers seat instead of the back seat.