Teachers today face a new reality with their personal approach to instructing, among the decorated clad walls of a classic classroom.
Technology.
Although this debate has been watercooler fodder for quite some time, the future of this rivalry, still remains in question.
The fact is: Right before our eyes, books have been replaced by tablets, the chalkboard became a screen, and homework no longer adorns hand-written smiley faces and stickers — Rather, an uploaded electronic ‘document’ floating thru cyberspace.
What does this reality say about the position teachers hold in the classroom?
- Will teachers be replaced?
- Will robots instruct lectures?
- Just how paranoid should teachers be about the power of technology?
Since the beginning of recorded time, teachers have been regarded as intelligent and persuasive leaders in the social context. Confucius (561 B.C.) became the first private teacher in history, persuading royal or noble government officials and the elite with intelligence.
Through Medieval Times, Pilgrims, early settlers and Latin grammar schools, the “Teacher” has long garnered their position as an influencer. As concepts formulated into systems, our association of the education ‘establishment’ has literally shaped our thinking in every known facet of existence.
The written word; Heiroglyphs, scripture, books and lectures have been the teacher’s vehicle to share knowledge. And now, it’s something much less tangible. Something electronic. It’s a machine. It’s a computer, tablet, program and download. Touching and turning the pages of past is an art fading away. Gazing into a screen is commonplace.
As we wrangle with ourselves to make sense of a world dominated by Emojis, text sentences chopped into shorthand acronyms, and a language forced into 144 characters or less…
...We’re literally spinning towards the ‘cause’ of how technology danced into the modern classroom, one click and swipe at a time.
Such a wild ride begs for one to focus on the positive. Technology adds another dimension to education, allowing teachers to up their game as facilitators, tech providing more information for their students, encouraging students and teachers alike to strive.
Regardless, the debate still stands. Dramatic increase of online courses proves tech’s popularity. That said, we understand when the calculator was born, it did not replace written math.
By this rationale, history has proven technology typically finds its place. When television came about, the populous felt radio would die. However, it indeed found itself thriving in the dash of an even newer invention – the automobile.
PBS took a deeper look into how Online Education has grown and changed over the years, impacting student enrollment and availability.
Stay tuned for next weeks blog where you will learn how we connect the dots on this definitive rivalry — Teachers vs. Technology — further discovering the journey technology has taken over time, powerfully placing itself in established institutions.
Written by Chelsie Foster
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