Homework #10 -By Tyniqua Hinton

I agree with the assertions the article makes about the classroom being geared towards a more technological based learning because the schools are implementing technology more and more in the classrooms. But, as the article expresses the notion of a teacher’s job being replaced by the computer in as little as ten years from now is a bit extreme. I think we have a long way to go before there is  a program that will bring to the students the same or an improved method of teaching students what is needed for the real world and to encourage the same students to be innovative. I highly doubt that the school system would take the risk of fully implementing a computer ran classroom in order to experiment with young children in order to see if the method of teaching is more effective than the old fashioned way of teaching as a teacher being the main source of instruction in the classroom.

I am a little worried about the way the speaker in Ted Talks spoke in a way that discredits the job of an experienced educated teacher.  For there is no way a computer can assess the needs of the different types of children that enter a classroom with different needs and levels of learning. My favorite quote from the article is, ” There is a profound difference between a local expert teacher using the Internet and all its resources to supplement and improve his or her lessons, and a teacher facilitating the educational plans of massive organizations,” I say this because I like the idea of teachers getting ideas from other sources in order to maker the classroom more engaging for the students but I do not think the sole purpose of computer software to be as the main source of learning for students. A student can not ask a computer certain questions that has never before been asked or addressed while a live teacher can help a student arrive to an answer without the use of technology. This type of learning places too much responsibility on the students, especially younger students who need guidance from adults. Computers are just not well rounded when it comes to learning, because even in my own experience I tried using videos like Khan academy but it only showed me the basic concepts of what I needed to know, when my professor actually figured out the way I was thinking and was able to determine the fault in my logic.

I find that technology will be a major tool for learning throughout my career but I do find that I as well as my future colleagues have to have a firm foundation n our field of learning in order to be effective teachers because what happens when the computer crashes. We have to be prepared and not be too dependent on technology to teach our students things that we already know. While I feel technology can never replace a good or even mediocre teacher I do find that it is important to stay knowledgable about the advances in technology by taking technology courses (as we are doing now), reading informative articles about new and upcoming innovations in technology, and keeping on top of studies done by professionals that is monitoring the effects of technology in the classroom. I think the home should be the place where a self organized learning environment is key for when the teacher is not around and the parents are not as informative as we’d like them to be to guide in learning at home, but a teacher should never be replaced with a computer.