Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Where will I and my classroom be in 5 or 10 years?

I think that it is really hard to say. Right now it is looking like I may be working at a private school in Montana; private school status means that technology access is never really stable. While the one I am looking at working for is pretty financially stable, public schools often have much greater access to state funds, and grants for technology. I see textbooks becoming somewhat obsolete, and interactive learning taking their place - this would, i think, especially pertain to science and history classes. English classes may not be quite so affected, however, due to the lasting creative genuis of the books being studied. I see interactive classrooms and workshops becoming very popular - especially since field trips could be taken right in the classroom. Trips to the museum, to a science lab, all brought to the students' fingertips. Will teachers even lecture? Or will podcasting and online lectures take the place of actually sitting in on a class? Will students learn as much by staring at a screen? Or do they ultimately learn more from having a personal relationship with their teachers and classmates? I know that for me personally, I will proable integrate technology as much as I can, but I will also really make an effort to keep class discussion and hands-on research and experience a part of my classes.

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