Sr. Stewart- Old Technology
Hola, Sr. Stewart here! I was asked to write about technology? Wow, I was honored that my opinion mattered on a subject on which I feel a little inept. I have just recently started to consider myself a dinosaur because I have realized that now being over fifty years old, I am one of the oldest faculty members at DHS. Who says that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? I have been teaching Spanish for twenty six years and have enjoyed every minute of it! On a clerical end, technology is my best friend. It’s my own personal secretary. Checking roll, progress reports, emails, and grades are so much easier now and this ease allows me more time to do lesson plans for my Spanish classes.
On an instructional end, for my teaching tools, I have always depended on my own education, experiences, and passion in instructing my students linguistically and culturally in their acquisition of the Spanish language. High school teachers are experts in their fields. When they are hired, they are to be entrusted to provide the best instruction to their students. Who knows the subject matter better than the teacher? To me, technology has never nor will ever define me or my mission in teaching Spanish. In my classroom, technology is simply one pedagogical tool of many that I utilize when teaching. I love Imovies for my piñata, Spain and Spanish-Speaking World projects. They are so much more informative and engrossing with music, narration and moving images. We have used garage band for makeup on dictation assignments, our macs for verb projects, research and I have tinkered with “quizlet.com.” “Quizlet.com” may look good for evaluations, but clicking multiple choice items will not get the students twenty-two hours credit at the Air Force Academy so I do not waste too much instructional time with the site!
I have always been of the opinion that teachers are not in this business for an easy job, thus I do what is necessary for the students to be successful in their post high school experiences in Spanish at the university level. Thus, they still read, speak, listen, compose and write. Of course, they do their composition assignments on their macs and revise on their macs. I am always looking for new tools and when I run across one that I deem worthy, I adopt it and add it to my bag of tricks. As long as my students are currently receiving anywhere from eight to twenty-two hours credit by taking placement exams at their respective colleges, why panic and change something that is functional just to follow the new flavor of the week? That is the problem in education today. As Benjamin Franklin said,“If it works, don’t fix it!”
Technologically speaking, I think it’s great as long as it can enhance a teacher’s repertoire and a professional educator should always be looking for enhancement of instruction. But in my teaching of Spanish, I will be the one to decide whether or not it is worthy and technology will never be the “end all” for me, but rather another tool in my toolbox for constructing the beacon of excellence in the classroom. ¡Viva! Sr.
Coach Smith- New Technology
I have always been and will forever be a fan of the technology in the world. Being born in 1984, I was able to grow up in a society that was just getting technology savvy, but it wasn’t consuming our lives as it is today. I got my own computer by the age of 7, but it wasn’t the easy convenient Macbooks that our students are accustomed to. I remember having to keep little booklets that came with my programs and games that had the “codes” to type in to actually make the programs work. If I couldn’t find the booklet, I wasn’t playing because the code was long and not easy to remember. In the cell phone world, I wasn’t allowed to have a phone until I was driving, which was the norm for everyone my age.
I absolutely love technology and all of the advances it’s given our society. I think it’s great that we can find an answer to any question in a matter of a couple seconds. I use technology pretty much 24/7. I have my laptop and iPhone on me at all times, like many people, and I have to watch myself for not getting on TOO often. I use it in every aspect of my life, from work, to trying to learn to extreme coupon, to planning my wedding. I know technology will only get better, but hopefully society will get better with their use of it. I hate that people get so consumed in technology that it takes away from who they are. I think people today sometimes don’t know how to communicate properly face to face because they are so use to hiding behind a computer or phone.
At DHS, it’s amazing that we are 1-1 with Macbooks and I think that the students and teachers are so lucky to have it. I hope students don’t take advantage of such a great privilege and use the great technology in the most positive way possible!
