Journal #6

"Social Justice: Choice or Necessity" By Colleen Swain and David Edyburn

How are students affected by the personal decisions their teachers make regarding when and how to use technology inside the classroom? In this article Swain and Edyburn say that students are greatly affected by these decisions. When teachers decide not to use technology in the classroom or in lesson plans students are disadvantaged. Nowadays students must not only have access to technology, but they have to be technologically fluent. Universities are making admission standards more complicated and students who are admitted but are not familiar with technology are at a decided disadvantage. Many jobs are now requiring employees to be technologically fluent in order to be successful. The number of classrooms that have computers in them is growing, though there are some classrooms that have no or limited access. This article goes over some ways to gain access and also how to locate resources for using this technology effectively. Swain and Edyburn state that teachers can influence the gap in the digital divide. If instructional technology is used in the classrooms as a means for social justice then students will have a different educational experience.

Questions…
1. How can I assure that my students are getting an education which is up to par with technology standards?
One way I can be sure that my students are receiving a proper education, from a technology standpoint, is to review the NETS standards and design lesson plans which use them. This should provide my students a level of technology understanding that is acceptable by national standards.

2. What resources are available to me, as a physical education teacher, to provide a lesson which is “technology-rich”?
Even though I will be in the physical education field, I think that I can give students homework assignments which require research on the internet (for example, on sports or health-related topics). The school’s computer lab can be used to complete this work. Also, I believe that schools will allow me access to digital still and/or video cameras to record student progress.