Week 1 Reading Reflection

After reading both assigned articles, I have many different thoughts and questions arise. When looking over Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology Transformation (Reigeluth, 2002), the first statement that really stuck out to me was “To date, technology has had minimal impact on K-12 education in the United States.” Although I know this article was written quite a few years ago, I totally disagree with this statement. When I look at the school that I teach at, each and every classroom is equipped with numerous forms of technology. Each classroom (K-12) has an interactive Starboard, document camera, voice enhancement, projector, etc. Granted, we did not have all this equipment at the time the article was written, but there was still some form of technology at that time. I absolutely agree that technology enhances a classroom setting and allows teachers to “transform teaching methods in ways that can result in a quantum improvement in learning.” I think technology is a very powerful tool that should be used to its fullest potential!




One statement that I do agree with in this article is that “Society is undergoing massive changes that are creating new educational needs and new educational tools that both require and enable a new, learning-focused paradigm of education …” I think that we have come a long way in the past years when it comes to integrating technology into the classroom. It amazes me to see the tools I have available now as a teacher compared to the tools we had in the classroom while I was still in school. Each year it seems that there is more and more out there to enhance the learning experience for the classroom. I think the massive changes can be very fun and exciting for many teachers, but for others it can also be overwhelming and scary. I think that the way the new technology is presented and used is a huge indicator of how teachers will put it to use. To me it all goes back to the professional development…if the new technology is presented in a clear cut manner and has continuous tech help as it is being used, it will more than likely be accepted easier and quicker.



After reading Of Luddites, Learning, and Life (Postman, 1993), I thought the article was much more “entertaining” than the first. I can relate technology in our school to Postman’s example with the Honda Accord. I can see how this example is related to a strong question that is debated still today… is all the new technology really solving the problems in education? I would describe myself as one of the more advanced technology using teachers in my school district, but I can also tell you that I cannot keep up with ALL the new technology programs and tools. I do think that technology is a great thing and I am all for it, but sometimes it sure seems like it can be too much!



I must say that I do agree with multiple points made in Postman’s article. I really like how he used everyday situations to tie into educational technology issues. I thought it was well written and thought out…even if it is rather old for a technology article!