Personal Philosophy Paper

 Personal Philosophy Paper 

Summary and Purpose 

Technology is an ever-present part of our daily lives now and it is unarguably a part of our future; therefore, technology must have a place in our education system as well.  The purpose of technology in education is to prepare students for the world beyond the classroom—a world where technology is an unavoidable, integral part of their lives both now, and certainly in their futures.  Simply put, students can learn without technology, but the ones that learn to use it will have greater opportunities (Couros 2020).  As educators, we have a professional obligation to ensure that our students are prepared to enter college or the work force when they graduate.  Additionally, we know that the use of educational technology in schools can help build digital skillsets in our students—skillsets that can serve as a lever for equity and help close the achievement gap created by poverty (Coker 2020).  How can we endeavor to meet these lofty goals if we do not include educational technology in our curriculum?  We cannot, and not attempting to do so is a disservice to our students and as a result, our futures.   

Biblical Support 

1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (English Standard Bible, 2001).  This verse reminds us that we have a biblical responsibility to do everything in our lives, including our work as a teacher, to the glory of God.  God expects us to glorify Him in our work, and to me, this means ensuring that we are doing our best to help our students learn and grow, and this cannot be done without integrating technology into our students’ education.  Additionally, the bible tells us the value of doing our best in our professions in Proverbs 22:29: “Do you see a man skillful in his work?  He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men” (English Standard Bible, 2001).  God reminds us that we will stand before kings when we work to honor him through our professions.  Skillful teachers must use technology within their lessons to ensure that our students will be prepared for their future lives outside of our classrooms.  Finally, Psalm 90:17 tells us, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” (English Standard Bible, 2001).  Using our hands, doing the work that we are called by God to do, brings honor to the Lord; therefore, it is our responsibility to do our best work, including utilizing technology in education to best meet the needs of our students. 

Concluding Statement 

  The integration of technology into our educational plans is non-negotiable in terms of both our biblical and professional responsibilities.  Because the known effects of educational technology include preparing our students to be future ready and giving our students the skillsets they need to level the field in terms of the achievement gap, it is imperative that teachers work to integrate it effectively.  Further, including educational technology as part of our curriculum is necessary to excellence in teaching, and we are called to strive for excellence in our work by God.  Educational technology allows teachers to perform to the best of their ability, which in turn gives students the ability to work towards growing their own abilities and having the necessary skills to prepare better futures for us all.   

Page Break 

 

References 

Coker, H. (2020).  Why does digital learning matter?  Digital competencies, social justice, and critical pedagogy in initial teacher education.  Journal of teaching and learning (14)1, 133-141.  https://doi.org/10.22329/jtl.v14i1.6259   

Courus, G. (2013, October 9).  The math of educational technology.  George Couros.  The Math of Educational Technology – George Couros.   

English Standard Bible. (2016). Crossway Bibles. (Original work published 2001) 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Discussion--Assistive Technology

  According to Rice (2019), all technology is “assistive” technology, whether a user is disabled or not. In this sense, any use of technology in the classroom is assistive, and designed to meet the needs of all of our students. Roblyer and Hughes (2019) explain that enhancements to online courses must occur to ensure accessibility to students with special needs such as those with vision, hearing, and physical impairments. These enhancements can include the ability to enlarge text, alternatives to mouse controls, alternative keyboards, alternatives to videos, alternatives to audio, and alternatives to text presentation.   In my own classroom, I have taught students with severe physical disabilities who have district-provided assistive technology to help them access the curriculum, and students with mild physical or learning disabilities who require me to provide access to the technology.   One form of assistive technology that I have used is providing access to read-...
Read more

Technology Lesson Demonstration Assignment

 Breakout EDU Link to demonstration video on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13SR369QeGNkf2DSJyG1M94OZOMub7z4P/view?usp=sharing     I selected BreakoutEDU as a tool to help my students practice working with positive and negative connotations.  After a lesson on determining tone from our reading, I realized that students may need practice identifying the connotations of certain words to help them determine the author’s tone while reading.  I had previously been introduced to BreakoutEDU , but not yet used it.  I’m glad I found it!  Overall, I am pleased with the selection.  It is a good way to build teamwork with students as they attempt to solve the puzzles, and it gives them good practice in determining connotations.  I liked the balance of difficulty in the locks, and I think it would work well with heterogeneous groups at a station rotation in my classroom.  BreakoutEDU is a good tool to review information in a fun and...
Read more

Discussion--Reflection

  I found several aspects of this class particularly beneficial and applicable to my teaching.  One of those was creating and posting to the blog.  I attended a training from George Couros who wrote The Innovator’s Mindset (2015), a few years back.  I recall him saying that it was likely to make many teachers uncomfortable, but regardless, he asked us which our future students would be more likely to write in their lives beyond school: an essay or a blog?  He was right—I was uncomfortable with this!  As a language arts teacher, I still feel that an essay is inevitable and that all students need to be able to write.  However, I have begun to see the real-world applications of having them do that writing in the form of a blog.     My current students only have limited access to technology, but I am kicking myself for the wasted opportunities in previous 1:1 classes .  I simply did not utilize technology to the extent that I should hav...
Read more