I joined my excellent co-authors in presenting a paper about “A Web 2.0 Global Community Learning Platform” the final plenary session of the ID+SCORM conference this last week. But that is not what I want to talk about.
During one of the sessions, I heard something that I keep thinking about. The presenter talked about how efforts to use technology in education sometimes makes teachers feel threatened, especially when rhetoric regarding the replacement of teachers by technology exists. I thought this presenter made a good point. He said that technology would never replace teachers, but it is more likely that teachers who use technology effectively will replace teachers who do not. Just some food for thought.
I agree with you, Clint. I don’t think teachers are threatened that technology will replace them. However, it’s absolutely true that they have a lot of pressure to use new technology. Often times, experienced teachers can use their voices and blackboards just as effectively as hot new technology to make their points crossed. It’s easy to overlook tacit knowledge from experiences. We should not forget that technology is a mean, not an end. Just my two cents..