9-30-10 Exit Post

In class when discussing the technology skeptic’s argument we split into groups according to our beliefs about technology use in education. Professor Boyer again went over how we should “tell what you’re going to tell us, tell us, tell us what you told us.” I thought the group did well presenting equally and giving us their own opinions along with the information being presented. I am not a big fan of us splitting into the three groups because I personally like to hear everyone’s opinion and I don’t like to affiliate with one group over another. I felt uncomfortable when there was a disagreement when a student became offended by a statement made by a presenter. In the classroom teachers need to be cautious about how they phrase things in order to avoid conflict and allow students to have their own ideas. The quotes in the chapter were discussed and how parallel the school’s arguments back in the early 1900’s are the same arguments  being used against technology present day. We also discussed student to student interaction versus teacher facilitated discussion. How can we encourage the student to student discussion? We can build on each other’s input and add things to it. I wasn’t a big fan of discussing everyone’s question in front of the entire class because it made me uncomfortable to be put on the spot. Professor Boyer mentioned that I should narrow my focus from learning disabilities to a more specific issue, so I chose to focus on students with ADD and ADHD in the elementary grades. We discussed making interactive lesson plans which I think will be fun and a valuable experience to learn as a future elementary education teacher.