This module discusses the implementation of technology and ICT within the curriculum and therefore within our classes, schools and libraries. We – both as teachers and librarians – need to remember that it is not enough to think of ICT and technology as a whole as a tool to help engage students for a period of ten to fifteen minutes. We need to be able to use technology to enhance the learning already happening and not detract from it.
The most pivotal point is that students are regularly seen as passive consumers of the curriculum and not active learners (Rowan, 2012, p. 219). One of the major areas where students are seen the most as passive learners is within the area of literacy. Students learn literacy skills the best through collaborative work with both their teacher and their peers. The biggest aspect of this collaborative work is that teachers are just as engaged with the technology as what the students are.
A particular feature of ICT impacting on students and teachers is that more and more meaning is being made from common symbols that we would otherwise not glean. Simple punctuation symbols are now being strung together to create images designed to convey different emotions or to show affection to another person. As I alluded to in a previous post, we cannot assume that our students live in a world of 100% print; for a large portion of our students print is a foreign concept that they do not like and do not care for.
We need to learn how to balance how we utilise technology and how meaning can be gleaned from aspects that we ordinarily would ignore. We need to adapt how we use technology and how we are engaged with it – it may mean that we use digital texts rather than print or learning what “<3” means (it’s meant to be a heart, by the way). There are plenty of other options and it is up to use as to how they are implemented and adapted within our schools and classes.
References
Rowan, L. (2012). Imagining futures (Ch. 13). In L. Rowan, & C. Bigum (Ed.),Transformative approaches to new technologies and student diversity in futures oriented classrooms: Future proofing education (pp. 217-225). Dordrecht: Springer Science +Business Media B.V.