Problemizing Thinking about my imagineIT project while reading STUCK in the SHALLOW END by Jane Margolis really has me thinking about the purpose of technology in my school and within my own classroom. It makes me wonder about the purpose technology serves to me as a teacher, as well as my students. In the book, it discusses policy and policy makers goals that technology will provide students with equality in their education. However, I'm not fully convinced.
For the past three years, I've had a chromebook cart for one-to-one learning within my classroom. It's been great to provide students with opportunities to complete online simulations, research for science fair projects or even now, to complete quickfires challenges. Here's where the unexciting component of having a chromebook cart; it was given to me. That's it. I applied and there I have it. I didn't have any training, yet, I had expectations that my students would learn more and better because of this technology. Say what? Just like Margolis discusses in chapter six, the mindset of "tech will fix it," lies within the walls of my school. Students are attending a "technology" class once a week, however, they're not learning the ins and outs of using a laptop or computer or how to keyboard, they're completing tedious online assessment aligned programs. This demonstrates that we're not concerned with preparing students for the future, we're concerned with their performance on tests. In relation to my project, I've had some additional bumps in the road to getting my project off the ground and running. I've had my administration tell me to begin a "maker space" for a group of gifted students in addition to my 20time project and imagine IT. I'm working out the kinks and hope to have the chance to blend my 20time and imagine IT projects together. |