Does Technology Change The Way We Teach?

The answer to this question can be summed in one word…”yes”, at least it has the potential to. However, whether or not it is used effectively, or even whether or not it is used at all, is dependent on each individual educator and circumstance. Also, I don’t think readers would be too impressed with a one word blog post. Therefore, I will use this blog post to discuss not whether technology changes the way we teach, as I feel that most people would agree with that statement at face value. Instead, I will use this blog post to discuss the most significant way in which it can change the way educators teach.

The greatest impact that technology has on the way educators teach is the wider audience it enables us to cater to, speaking both of student engagement and geographically. Instead of only standing up in front of a classroom and lecturing, which would engage only your auditory learners; or showing PowerPoint slides, which would exclude kinesthetic learners, the creativity that can be incorporated while developing lesson plans is limited only by the imagination of the content developer. With the technology available in today’s educational setting, it is unacceptable to deliver content that does not reach all learning styles. Even if technology is not available in every classroom, and thus cannot be used to help deliver educational content, it is reasonable to assume that the majority of teachers have access to various technologies. Thus, at the very least, technology can be used to help develop the lesson plans ahead of time, in an effort to broaden the students’ classroom learning experience.

Geographically, technology gives both students and teachers options that were not previously available. In higher education, the college a student attends does not need to coexist in the same geographical location, as online programs continue to proliferate. Furthermore, curriculum development consortiums can now be comprised of schools with similar resources and values, instead of those residing in close proximity to one another. Using tools such as virtual meetings, Google Docs, instant messenger, and email, communication and collaboration is no longer limited to neighboring school districts. Technology can therefore be used to ensure that the richest curriculum is developed.

Using Web 2.0 for Instructional Purposes

Web 2.0 applications can be used to help aid instruction if properly implemented. One tool that has potential benefits in the classroom is Diigo. Diigo is a cloud-based personal information management system that can further be used for collaborative purposes. With Diigo, students have the ability to bookmark a webpage as displayed, or they have the option to highlight, annotate, or add sticky notes to a webpage and save the webpage with their editing. The bookmarked sites can then be shared with other individuals. Used for this purpose, Diigo has the ability to be used as a collaborative research platform for students.

A Web 2.0 proposed project that would incorporate the use of Diigo includes assigning students to research a topic that has been presented in class; and to bookmark these articles with their highlights, comments, and annotations to the class account. Students would then be tasked with reviewing another student’s articles and comments and responding with their own thoughts, both on the original article and their reaction to their peer’s comments.

The Value of Learning from Fiction

Using fiction to teach nursing-related content can be a valuable teaching methodology and is frequently incorporated into nursing curricula. The use of simulations and case studies are just a couple of examples of widely used teaching strategies that incorporate the use of fiction to educate nursing students. Currently, clinical sites are becoming increasingly harder to secure, thus nursing students are afforded less time in the clinical setting to practice and apply classroom content. Subsequently, simulations and case studies can be used to mimic real-world scenarios, providing students the opportunity to evaluate consequences of nursing interventions. For example, if students administer an incorrect dose of pain medication, it is fairly known what effects that medication will have on the patient physiologically. Thus, once the incorrect dose is given, the consequences that would occur in the “real-world” can be mirrored, in this case the patient respirations would significantly decrease and the students would need to react accordingly.

Due to limited clinical site availability, the use of fiction to teach nursing content is a becoming a widely used and accepted practice. Furthermore, the predictability of patient responses physiologically makes the use of fiction extremely valuable in experiencing real-world consequences to chosen nursing interventions.