Media and Technology Use in Education

How do media and technology use affect learning? This is a debate that has been going around for decades, with some good points made by Richard Clark and Robert Kozma. Clark argues that media is only the vehicle to deliver learning, so using said media does not guarantee that a student is going to learn and that information can be delivered through different mediums. Kozma argues that media can have different characteristics that are more or less suitable for learning things, depending on the material. Since media definitely have an influence, educators should worry more about how we can use media to deliver information more effectively for unique situations or tasks.

Both men make valid points. Technology and media can certainly impact learning and allow students to do and create amazing things. Technology allows students to express their learning or create new connections in fun and exciting ways. At the same time (and I feel like I might be burned at the stake for even writing this) I feel like technology does not always need to be present for true genuine learning. In fact, when forced, technology can take away from genuine learning.

This article is spot on, in my opinion. Take a second to read it. It’s short, I promise.

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2016/04/why-pedagogy-first-tech-second-stance-key-future

I worked at a school during the year(s) that it rolled out the Bring-Your-Own-Device campaign. There was pressure on teachers to learn dozens of programs that may or may not be applicable to what they were teaching. There was insane pressure to incorporate use of the new tablets into lesson plans. Though shrouded as an effort to create more authentic learning, I really felt that this initiative was a bit misguided and ended up in a lot of time wasted both by students and teachers because there was so much pressure to bring technology into as many lessons as possible. Like this article states, “it is imperative not to allow the device to drive instruction,” While teaching to the test has a bad reputation, I feel like teaching to the device is equally wasteful yet educators are afraid to speak up about it because there is SO MUCH PRESSURE to integrate technology.

Before you rip my teaching certification from my hands, hear me out. Technology can absolutely help students express their learning. It can definitely capture the interest of otherwise disengaged students. It can help bring subject matter to life! Technology is ever-present in our world, and therefore it needs to be present in the field of education if we are going to set our kids up for success in the real world. But I have seen kids waste time trying to use an app that hardly fits a lesson plan, when the same kids don’t even know how to put a header or footer on a Word document.

I think this paradigm of wanting to incorporate technology in the classroom, yet not forcing it when it doesn’t actually enhance learning is where the job of a school librarian lies. Teachers are consumed with lesson planning and delivering content. They do not have time to learn how to navigate every possible app out there. Librarians, however, need to be in the know as far as what technology is available for teachers to use – whether it be hardware or software/apps. The librarian should be familiar with as many of these as possible so that she can recommend apps that would be useful to individual teacher needs, and help them navigate the new technology along the way.

I have found in my career that often teachers either shove technology into a lesson in order to check a box, or avoid it altogether because they are too afraid to learn how to use it or that they don’t trust that it will work on the day of their lesson (and this is a realistic worry, but that’s what plan B’s are for!). I think that librarians need to encourage technology that authentically aids learning by promoting different apps/software/hardware available to teachers. Teachers should know what is available, and be able to receive tutorials from the librarian when they need help.  One way to do this might be a monthly spotlight on an app with a brief summary for teachers to read. Those who think it might be useful in their classroom can come in to find out more information. Another way is to always communicate with teachers when new hardware is purchased. A brief list of what the hardware can do should be advertised for teachers. I think this approach is best because it lets teachers know what is available without pressuring them to know everything out there and how to use it (which should be the job of the librarian!)
Librarians should do the same for students. Just as a librarian is willing to suggest books, they need to be able to suggest hardware, software, apps, websites, and other digital tools that can help students. Librarians also need to get a feel for the holes where students are lacking, like my example above of not being able to insert a header on a Word document. When the librarian assesses where the student population is struggling technologically, she can adjust programs to help them or pass along the information to subject area teachers who may be able to help.

And just like adding to or weeding a book collection, librarians must often take inventory often of what technology is available to students and teachers. It is in this partnership that the use of technology can truly help learning flourish.

Sources:

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2016/04/why-pedagogy-first-tech-second-stance-key-future

http://anildash.com/2017/01/on-being-and-techs-moral-reckoning.html