Culture of Technology Workshop 6

Sherry Turkle (2004) says, "Information technology is identity technology. Embedding it in a culture that supports democracy, freedom of expression, tolerance, diversity, and complexity of opinion is one of the decade's greatest challenges (p. B28)."

1. What role could multimedia instructional materials and student multimedia projects play in bringing about this culture?

I think that, in this case, technology could be compared to art. By this I mean to make the connection to freedom of expression/speech and creativity. Students who are enabled to use a variety of technological resources have the ability to create high-quality work. With proper training and usage, these multimedia tools can greatly benefit the learning and assessment of students' knowledge and connections to subject topics and areas. Since the culture that is expressed above is a reality, students must be equipped to be able to learn and create through such avenues.

2. How can teachers' use of multimedia support the development of such a culture?

When teachers model proper use of anything, it helps to promote that item. In this case, multimedia support can be used to keep students current and open up new possibilities for authentic learning experiences. It can also create a link to non-multimedia learning, which will help students remain active in a variety of learning experiences.

3. What are the challenges in your classroom?

I'd say money, time, and training (for myself) are the biggest challenges in my classroom. I feel like exploring new technology properly takes a lot of time, which for some reason I never have enough of! Our school's budget for technology is not a priority, so it's hard to purchase new software, subscribe to websites, etc. This in itself can make learning about new technology difficult. Finally, I really learn best by physically trying out new things. Being a little tech-handicapped, I would really learn best from someone who knows how to use technology and testing it out for myself. In general, this could even look like a technologically savvy person teaching me, with an example, how to review and choose software which is appropriate for the grade level which I teach.