The first chapter in "Rethinking Education" opened my eyes to a new way of teaching and learning that could possibly be solely based off of using technology in the classroom. As a current student myself, I have realized a few slight changes in incorporating technology into my classes, but nothing major. I have realized that professors are now using technologies such as the "Smart Board" for executing lectures or using "Twitter" for posting course assignments. After reading chapter one, as a future teacher I am somewhat nervous that technology will soon take over and student/teacher relationships and student/student relationships will no longer be important or even exist, worse yet, someday classroom teachers may no longer be needed. On the other hand, I think using new technology such as a Smart Board to replace old materials for teaching such as a chalkboard is a good idea because new technologies such as a “Smart Board” have many more tools that can be useful in a classroom. Another concern of mine is if a classroom were to fully rely on technology, when assigning nightly homework that is to be done using a computer, not every student's family is able to afford a computer, which means the student will not have access to a computer resulting in uncompleted homework. In my eyes, technology has one purpose for a classroom and that is to update outdated materials for teaching and learning, but to not take over.
As a result of this new thinking, I will stress the fact that the interaction between teacher/student and student/student is most important and technology is solely used as a tool to help get points across to students, but not rely on technology to teach the students. I will also not expect that each and every one of my students has access to a computer at home, which means most homework will be done "the old fashion way" by using a paper and pencil and if a rare situation comes up where they need access to a computer they are able to use the school computer lab to complete that assignment. I will also stress to my students that using technology is not a bad thing, but to be careful when using it because technology is not perfect and does have glitches. I also want to teach the students that technology has a purpose and will most likely be used in each of their professions but technology can and will not teach you people skills which are very important in someday having a career. Teaching students people skills is not only useful in their future jobs but important in everyday relationships with others.
Overall, chapter one in “Rethinking Education” was both an exciting and frightening chapter to read as a future teacher. It was exciting because new technology will aid as a tool in my classroom someday, but also frightening because if overused, the same technology might someday take over your classroom.
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