Technology is nothing without the teacher! (Jan.22)

In my reading of Chapter 1 I agree with the point the textbook made about “teachers always will be more important than technology”. I am old enough (unfortunately) to remember people talking about how one day computers would replace humans in the work place. I am sure many people thought this would be true in all areas even teaching. But the computers in the classroom are only equipment, it is the teacher who can making the use of the computer meaningful and useful to a student’s learning. This leads me to another point that I found interesting which deals with the importance of the teacher as well. The chapter stated “Having students use technology does not raise achievement scores…The impact depends on the ways the technology is used.” Some educators are unaware of how to use the technology available to them in the most effective way to enhance student performance. I have seen many students in classrooms on websites that essentially is “game based” and students are not acquiring knowledge from these websites. Sure it may be fun for the students, but it is not the best use of the instructional time we have with students. There are great technology resources available to teachers but teachers have to know how to implement them effectively in their classrooms.