In listening to the discussion on whether media IS the message, or just a tool to use to send the message out, I would say that in my opinion I feel that media is a tool rather than the message. I must admit that in my campus and district we are trying to push the one-to-one student and technology ratio, and for a while I fought for it too, but in looking at the discussions and the debate I realize now that ultimately learning should be the priority, and if we use technology it shouldn't be the main focus of the lesson.
In my classroom I do feel that I have incorporated technology for many different reasons. My students have blogs that they write on, we use Nearpod, Padlet, and QR codes, but I feel that in using these tools we are using them as just that: a tool. I feel that Richard Clarks' analogy helped me realize my stance in this debate. He mentions that by shipping food through a delivery truck, the nutrition doesn't change based on which truck it is delivered on, so in education we can use the tools for many different reasons, but the deciding factor in how our kids learn is what is the basis of our lesson before we use the tool to deliver it. Let me give you an example, our district has paid for a subscription to Nearpod, and for those of you who are not that familiar with Nearpod it is like powerpoint, but you can incorporate mini activities inside the slides, and you have access to seeing student responses in real time. I tend to use Nearpod when I want to see individual responses of students to see which students I need to target with small-group instruction and tutoring, so when I use Nearpod, it isn't only to keep the students engaged with the fact that they are using the iPads, but it is so that I have a clear look at what my students know and do not know. Whatever I taught them before through notes, activities, and instruction would be what I am looking for through the use of Nearpod.
One good thing I do feel my district has done when it comes to technology is by introducing the SAMR model to us:
I am still working on understanding the model fully, but for the most part I do understand that they want us to use technology as a tool to help create connections and understanding with the content, but mainly they want us to use technology to help the students CREATE and form those connections through their own experience and make the learning their own.
AS librarians I feel that we need to continue showing our teachers and students how to use technology and make it available for them, but we should not use it as the only solution for learning. Students do need to know how to use these tools for when they go onto post-secondary education, but they should not rely on it as their only source of knowledge.
Some of the issues that I do see may come up is the fact that if students use technology as their main source in education, they may lose the basic skills they need to function in a classroom. We see this when students cannot do basic mathematics without a calculator, or cannot use a dictionary on their own, when they cannot spell without spell-check. I have already seen this with some of my students and it saddens me to see this because I think of their adult-selves and wonder how they will manage if they have no phone with them. It may sound silly to wonder this and to worry about it, but in a world where instant gratification has robbed us of the simple things in life, I worry about the people my students become, and I want them to be okay in the moments when their phone runs out of battery, or the power goes out unexpectedly. I want them to be well-rounded and to be self-sufficient. Technology can be a very powerful tool, but we still need to rely on the basics so that we do not become helpless without it.
