Does the adoption of e-learning imply modification of your teaching
(i.e. evolution), extreme change in your teaching (revolution) or more
of what you already do (status quo)?
When I first started my teaching career my teaching style and integration of technology was very different to how I run my classroom now. E-learning has been the driving force behind the evolution of my teaching pedagogy in many positive ways. When I first started teaching I was in a school that had a computer lab and one desk top computer in each class, however as technologies developed and my school didn't I decided it was time for a change and moved to my current school. Here I was thrown into the deep end in regards to technology but I quickly adapted to my new environment and as a result my teaching evolved to incorporate the tools in my new well resourced classroom. Technology enabled me to make the learning in my class more meaningful and relevant to my students, Howland, Jonassen & Marra (2012) stated that meaningful learning occurs when activities engage students.
Technology has changed rapidly in the past 10 years and many 5 year old students starting school are much more skilled at operating devices and more aware of what can be achieved by working online. This has meant that the children entering school have a larger technological skill set and therefore are ready and more capable of using technology as a tool for their learning. (Howland, Jonassen & Marra, 2012). This has meant that in order for my teaching to remain relevant and engaging for my students I need to ensure that how I incorporate technology in my class in authentic and engaging for my students. I-pads are an amazing tool that I prefer working with in my classroom as they allow children to work in groups of up to three and they can move beyond the walls of my classroom to complete a learning task. There was a time when allowing a 5 year old to carry an i-Pad outside a classroom would've been unheard of and thought of as crazy but I have seen that by treating my students as repsonsible learners they more often than not meet my expectations. It would be irresponsible of me not to create these real life learning experiences for my class as that is what makes the learning real and authentic. I see that it is part of my role as teacher to introduce my students to new technologies so that they can start to build a bank of resources that they can draw upon when they start to realise that they can choose the technology that best suits their learning needs. (Koehler, Mishra & Cain, 2013).
The rapid changes in technology are pressuring me to adapt my teaching, and incorporate more into my teaching practise.
