Multi-Tasking:Technology and Teaching

The 21st century student is completely different than any other student in history.  They are dynamic, information driven people, with the world at their fingertips, utilizing computers and other technology to do so.  They are the definition of multi-taskers, able to take in and process loads of information and pretty effectively manage many tasks at once.  This lifestyle carries over into the classroom.  No longer can they sit in a room taking notes for the whole class period.  They need to be challenged with many types of stimuli.  For the reason alone, students today present us educators with a unique opportunity.

As a future teacher, I am at times overwhelmed by the amount of things that need to be remembered for this profession.  Besides all the content you need to actually impart on your students, the methods in which to do this impose an even larger puzzle.  At the heart of the 21st century is the emerging technology we have available to us.  Blogs, wikis, doodles, Twitter, Facebook, etc., the list goes on and on.  To be able to use these tools effectively is one thing, but to be able to appropriately integrate them into your classroom is no small feat.

This is one of my biggest concerns while I make my way through the education field. How can you effectively use technology in your classroom without students becoming distracted or frustrated by it.  Perhaps I am underestimating the average student these days, maybe they will pick up and connect with these techniques more than the old school white board.  Time will only tell, but it's something I am keeping a close tab on as I learn and grasp more of these new tools.

Even as I sit here and type this, I have my email open in another tab and our Today'sMeet open in another.  It is almost habit to have more than one thing going on at once while working on my computer. This is a little unnerving because if students are doing this in the classroom, what kinds of things are they going to be able to learn?  Can they effectively multi-task?  Personally I think that is a matter of how much they tell themselves they can.  If I sit here and tell myself I can finish typing this blog while checking my email and TodaysMeet, then perhaps I can be successful in multi-tasking, however if I allow myself to completely engrossed in one of those things, than I am definitely not successful in quest to multi-task.  

Because of all the things a computer and other technology allows us to do, teachers are going to have to find ways to convince students they are relevant and confident in their abilities with technology.  Only then will they be successful in integrating technology and teaching together, with multi-tasking students who can succeed amidst the multitude of information they are receiving.

-joe