Teaching with Technology Philosophy
The idea of what composition or essays are, is changing. Technology has enhanced so much that we use different tools and means to create and convey meaning. To write an essay, even to compose one can be achieved through different means. It is not just with pen and paper, or typing, but speech recognition, and blogs, visual essays among many other things that changed what it means to communicate an idea or series of ideas in an academic format. Even what it means to be academic has changed. Essays no longer have to be typed in standard MLA format, since MLA guidebook has changed its formatting style in order to become more accessible to the new and evolving technologies and people.
I believe that as a teacher, I need to teach my students in a way that is accessible to each and every one of them. I have to keep in mind as an instructor that physical and learning disabilities can prevent students from composing an essay in the traditional method of typing or handwriting. As a teacher, I feel, that it is my duty to supply them with the means to compose, so that they can do it themselves. However, in order for new technologies to be successfully integrated in the classroom, instructors must be literate in the new technologies so that they can successfully teach their students how to compose with these new tools.
With the use of different technologies comes an endless possibility of success in the classroom. Multimodal technologies such as speech recognition software, blogs such as Tumblr or Wordpress, allow for various mediums to compose and create a story. For students with learning disabilities, students can create blog entries and stories without the traditional word processing format, but instead use images, music, and videos to compose and create. Students with physical disabilities, such as the inability to use their hands or are legally blind, can use speech recognition software such as Dragon or Google Speak to help them compose essays and blog entries. Learning, composing, and creating must be made available to everyone, and technology is the most realistic means of accessibility for all students.
The new technologies cannot only be used successfully with students with impairments, but with non-impaired students as well. Using different mediums other than the word processor , and the traditional five-paragraph essay allows students to create and communicate in mediums that do not wholly rely on the written word as a means of communication. Multimodal communication can be created through the use of visuals and materials. Instead of focusing and revising an end product, such as a five-paragraph essay, the student can reflect on and learn from the process it took to create their composition.
