Emerging Technologies

This week we were presented the following information and asked to reflect upon it...

In the article, Ravitch: The toll of school reform on public education, Diane Ravitch states:

"Teaching will become a job, not a profession. Young people will typically spend a year or two as teachers, then move on to other, more rewarding careers. Federal and state policy will promote online learning, and computers will replace teaches. Online class sizes will reach 1:100, even 1:200; the job of monitoring the screens will be outsourced, creating large economies for state budgets."

The idea of this makes me so sad.  I am all for incorporating technology into education.  In fact, I think it is a necessity.  But computers are tools.  They are tools that will help our children learn the 21st century skills necessary to function in the future world.  But, they are just that...tools.  There are many lessons that children learn at school which cannot be taught by a computer:  cutting with scissors, creating works of art with hands on materials, making friends and learning how to deal with the hardships of having friends, learning about emotions and how to interact with people, experiencing writing and drawing, etc.  I can not imagine a world without teachers.  Good teachers do so much to guide, nourish and facilitate the holistic learning of young people.  A classroom where children can be at the center of their own education is a good one to be in, I think.  I understand and believe in the idea  of teachers as facilitators.  It is important for teachers to facilitate in a multimodal way, not simply with the use of computers.  Not all children learn best via technology.  Many children learn, very specifically, through the use of hands on materials.  Computers do not provide this. They simply provide one tool, one very effective tool, for children to utilize to enhance and elaborate their learning.

I believe and hope that there will always be an intense need for quality teachers.  I enjoyed reading about the emerging technologies this week.  Cloud computing, mobile devices, game based learning, open content, personal learning environments and learning analytics are all very interesting technologies and I do believe that through the upcoming years, these emerging technologies will become more and more advanced and will ultimately change the way an education is received.  Hopefully, teachers will be able to progress with the technologies and will continually adapt to the educational need in the 21st century.  I believe that need will continue to include quality teachers. 

I simply cannot imagine computers replacing teachers.  In my mind, it simply cannot happen.  People need and will always need social interaction and hands on experience with 3D materials.