In every aspect of our lives, technology is being used more and more often. This is especially evident in the use of this website as a portfolio. Obviously, technology is an inescapable part of human life, especially in America. As technology becomes more cost effective and simpler to use, it is used in increasingly varied ways.
As the school I observe in is rather small, they do not have all the technology the high school I attended did, but they do have more than enough to assist in their classes. The most common form of technology used every day is the projector and teacher’s computer. This may seem basic to most individuals but by using this system to project notes or view related video clips a teacher is able to ensure the entire class has access to the information and that attention remains focused on the lesson. Within the history class, the projector is used for perhaps half an hour on the note taking days. Through discussing with the teacher I learned that he prefers to avoid using the system too often as his lessons could then become too reliant on it which would result in chaos if the projector were to break down. Thus most of the lesson involves discussions of the material rather than straight forward observations. Another readily available technology is in the back of the room. This particular classroom has a small desk with two computers and a printer. I have never seen anyone use these during the classes I have been to most likely because this table is too small for more than a pair of student and in a class of almost twenty it would take too long for an assignment to be completed if only two could work at a time. I find this quit different from my high school where most class rooms had five or six computers for the student’s use and thus many more computer based assignments. I do however find it a good practice that the teacher I observe tries not to rely on technology and is cognoscente of the possibility of technology failure. I have had several teachers from elementary school through current classes that cannot run a lesson without using PowerPoint of similar programs. We have to remember that technology is only a tool, not a requirement in every lesson.