Shortening Attention Spans?

I agree with John David Son, that no, technology is not shortening our students attention spans. I think if teachers were to incorporate more technology in their classrooms, they might see better results. In the article, John poses the question: “why should we expect our students to live two different lifestyles?” I completely see this point! Is it really fair of teachers to ignore this blatant difference with today’s students and go on teaching like its still 1960?

I think a lot of teachers are afraid of technology. They are very comfortable with it so they just don’t use it. I’m glad to be taking this course in technology because it has really opened my eyes to how useful and engaging it can be for students. Although some of it seems very daunting, once I’m shown how; it’s really pretty easy and user friendly. I want to use technology in my classes because it allows students to learn by doing instead of them just being on the “receiving end of the information” like lecture does.

After reading this article, I wonder why teachers do not want to learn technology. While it may seem big and scary, there are many helpful and reputable sites for teachers. Web quests, Wiki’s, blogs or free WebPages are just some of the things I have already learned to use in just 3 short weeks in Technology for Teachers class. I also wonder why schools aren’t doing a sort of technology workshop for their teachers. It seems we have read a lot about the usefulness and effectiveness of technology in the classroom, yet schools don’t seem to be doing much about it. This could be a barrier for those teachers who want to learn how to use technology, but don’t know where they can. It would be beneficial for all involved for schools to look into something like this.