Post 5 - Thoughts on A Better Pencil

Technology certainly has a place in the classroom. In an increasingly digital world, it makes virtually no sense to not integrate classrooms and pedagogies with at least some of our technological capabilities. As a kid, I remember when my small school first installed smartboards in the classrooms; kids actually wanted to go in front of the class and write on the board. In high school, I appreciated having an online system, which is very similar to the Angel program many WSU classes utilize. I find the use of technology in classes to be enriching to my own education. I have learned a lot over the past four years from electronic mediums, whether it be videos, software, virtual class, and even video games. I do not view the use of technology any differently than print mediums; they can be extremely successful or they can fail miserably. It truly depends on the classes' context and how the teacher incorporates the medium into the course. In large classes, technology has been used to ensure attendance and provide students with opportunities to engage in the class, despite being one of only a few hundred students. This happens due to iclickers, which allows students to answer prompted questions and earn points. Any class with clicker questions forces students to remain engaged in class. I also see ebooks as becoming increasingly present in education. I have used multiple ebooks while studying at WSU. It is nice carrying my ipad to class as opposed to a 6 lb textbook, half of which I'll never need for the class. Despite the advantages of going paperless, I still prefer an actual hard copy, a hardback book that allows me to more easily mark pages, record my thoughts next to the author's, and I find it easier to reference.