Teachers' Views of Computers as Catalysts For Changes in Their Teaching Practices

In this rapidly changing world, where employment requirements and fundamental literacy expectations are constantly changing, we as teachers need to evolve so that we may help our students meet those demands. In the article, Teachers' Views of Computers as Catalysts For Changes in Their Teaching Practices, I found myself agreeing with many of the educators and policy makers whom were spoken about in the article. They suggest that with the introduction of computer technology into the classroom, we as educators will act as facilitators “by helping student’s access information, process it, and communicate their understanding.” Therefore, computer technology must become a part of the general curriculum so students are prepared for the world ahead of them.

Many teachers now have access to computer technology in their classrooms, however, in my personal experiences of have seen very little being done on the part of the teacher to introduce technology to their students. According to the article, several aspects could help the “educational technological field by examining deeper into how it might apply theory and research on the change process and teacher development.” For example, teacher as decision maker, teachers are constantly making decisions about how they teach their experience and knowledge base also influence their decisions on what course of action they will take. Teacher as learner, “for teachers to implement any new instructional strategy they must acquire new knowledge about it and then weave this together with the demands of the curriculum, classroom management, and existing instructional skills. These are some of the few ideas that could help teachers introduce computer technology to their students more effectively.

Teachers have always been responsible for what their students learn. With the growth of the technological world teachers must also take on the added responsibility of teaching students how to use the computer as a tool as well as increase computer literacy for all students. Clearly defining expectations for the teacher is critical and I believe that with clear expectations about what a teacher should be teaching will show that teachers can be successful if they take ownership of a new instructional strategy. Additionally, allowing self reflection on all teaching methods is a sure fire way to improve teaching performance.