My Blog

Nothing bothered me more in school growing up than when my teachers would spend an entire class period teaching algebraic equations, or the effects of of the East India Trade Company in the Western World, only to go home, start my homework, and realize I remembered practically none of the information spewed at me over the past 8 hours of my life. For me, homework was a nightmare. I would read the instructions and questions repeatedly, each time making less sense than the last because I was reading too deep into it. By the end each question could have been written in another language. I wouldn't have known the difference. My parents help? Forget it! Once I hit 8th grade my parents were useless. They knew less than I did, or at least we were on the same page. I did not have YouTube or Google to look it up. I was alone to fend for myself, hoping it all made sense by the end, after hours of frustration. However, to relax I loved watching documentaries. I could tell you more about the c...

I was substitute teaching at the intermediate school in my district last week, and I was talking to the P.E. teacher about being back in school and mentioned that I was taking a class based around Technology in Education. At that point one of the other PE teachers looked at me and said "Technology in PE, huh. Well, if you learn anything please let us know." This got me wondering more than usual, how will I incorporate technology in a Physical Education class?  Fact is, I substitute solely Physical Education class for seven different schools in two different districts, and the closest I have seen technology used was at one elementary school, where the PE teachers were playing a variety of different types of music during class to see which style, if any, raised the participation rates of the students in class. Other than playing music during class, I have not seen it done before or since.  After hearing that statement I spent a good portion of the rest of the week rese...

Reacting to a New Generation: The pros and Cons of Technology in Education. By: Todd Fitzpatrick Over the past twenty years technology has become and integral part of communication within society. Notably, one area of which this is highly recognizable is in today's education system. Many districts around the nation are doing away with the standard books, pencils, and paper, and instead opting to integrate the use of computer based training. (Kirschner, Hulshof, Bruckers 2016). In the school district I work for there is one tablet per child per classroom in the junior high, and at least 3 rotating carts of tablets per elementary school. For the past four years my son, a fifth grader in a different school district than I work in, has been designated his own personal tablet by the school that he brings home on a nightly basis to study and complete assignments on. With the rapid increase of societal dependence on technology it is more important than ever that the youth of today ...