technology in the classroom

I’ve had both positive and negative experiences with technology in the classroom.

On the positive side, I enrolled in a hybrid course at AACC that met once a week on campus with the majority of the instruction and discussion done online using the college’s proprietary version of BlackBoard. The professor understood how to use the online and on-campus portions of the course and tailored each section to its strength. Lectures and other tedium were handled online, where we could easily view and study the material at our leisure. Each week a question or discussion topic was posted by the professor and everyone was expected to respond to both it as well as other student’s responses. The limited classroom time was utilized for face to face discussions and activities to enhance what was covered in the online readings and discussions. Because of its hybrid nature, we were still grouped together as a class, but school and hence the learning no longer ended as we left the building. Technology enriched the course and made it more engaging and informative.

On the negative side, reliance on technology can also hurt. For whatever reason, it was decided by the powers that be that Algebra II in my high school should be taught with and through use of graphing calculators and not through hand calculations. Without seeing how the calculators arrived at their answers for variables and without seeing how graphs were generated, matrices filled, and more it was hard, for me at least, to learn what and how to do. I've always learned best through writing and repetition to cement information and techniques into my memory, and removing the work of the calculations hurt my understanding and retention of the subject.

So I see technology as a double-edged sword. In some cases, properly used, it can enrich and enhance a class. In other cases, it can be a distraction, unnecessary complication, or oversimplify material to the point that retention and learning are harmed, not helped. Everything in moderation...