"How Teachers Are Integrating Tech Common Core" Reflection

This article provides a very optimistic view of the recently constructed Common Core Standards and the technology with which it is associated. Fred Sitkins lists multiple standards and then follows with how teachers have effectively implemented these practices with the use of technology. Among these examples are teachers' integration of iBooks, Twitter, and blogging in the classroom. He insists that the privilege of having technology in the school system broadens students' horizons and enables them to learn on a deeper level. The article closes with the notion that the Common Core is inevitably going to be inflicted on teachers across America; nevertheless, it is up to educators to decide whether or not to take advantage of the technological revolution in order to better the quality of American education for the students.

My response to this article is that of utter indecisiveness. My initial reaction is to focus on the expansion of learning through the use of the most modern technology. Being a Special Education major, I am particularly fond of the idea that disabled students can gain a sense of independence from learning by utilizing an iPad or tablet. The use of technology in general is extremely useful to the progress of disabled students. The majority of me, however, refuses to relinquish the preservation I hold on turning actual pages and having students' attention directed to the board in the front of the classroom. If every student is issued a laptop (or some other form of technological device) what purpose could a teacher possibly serve? The internet offers knowledge that far surpasses anything that one human could memorize and then project to a classroom full of students. Even if educators still serve the purpose of guiding students and keeping them on the right track, we are teaching children beginning at five years old to be dependent on technology. That thought, coupled with the thought that kindergarteners will have access to social networking sites, horrifies me. Sitkins' specific examples of children no older than seven using Twitter, iTunes U, and painting tools causes me to disagree with his suggestions on how to utilize technology. Though I believe the use of technology in moderation is beneficial and supplements learning, I do not agree that children should be exposed to social networks such as Twitter, nor do I agree that learning should become innately dependent on such technologies. Overall, I seem to support the standards endorsed by the Common Core, I just do not agree with Sitkins' methods of how teachers should approach these standards.