Reflection #4

The WIRED Classroom by Jamie McKenzie

What?
At first, I couldn't figure out the position the writer of this article was taking. I thought they were against technology in the classroom, but after reading a while I figured it out! He (she?) talks about how schools jumped on the wired classroom bandwagon without thinking through the effectiveness of it and thinking that it was going to be some kind of miracle cure for their classrooms.
McKenzie makes the point that even with all the latest technology in the classroom, it will do nothing for your students without a competent teacher.

So What?
McKenzie states that in order for technology to make an impact in the classroom, there needs to be enough computers available. The other thing is to have staff development in order to navigate the tools effectively.
Instead of school districts buying x number of computers, the funds should be used on slightly fewer computers and development of staff to maximize the use of the computers they do buy. Having 5000 computers is going to do nothing if only 30% of them are being used.

What now?
Hopefully I can be one of the "developed" staff that will be able to use technology in order to have an advantage in the classroom. According to the article, the placement of the computers in the classroom makes a big difference in whether or not they get used to their fullest potential. Limiting them to the back far corner of the classroom only to be used for fun once the real work is done will not be effective.
Having computers and other technology in my classroom will be a benefit to both me as the teacher and to the students as long as I use it correctly and smartly.