My personal Philosophy for using Technology in Education

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But
education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most
dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason but no morals. We must remember that
intelligence is not enough intelligence plus character, that is the goal of true education.
Martin Luther King Jr., speech at Morehouse College, 1948
The purpose of education is not only to develop ones intellect, in order to contribute to the
economic growth of society. It does not only encompass improving ones knowledge and
preparing to become an effective part of the workforce thus fulfilling our civic duties as
members of society. Though these are all important objectives to be met education goes beyond
the above-mentioned. The purpose of education is to inculcate morals and values building
character and combining this with intelligence. The purpose of education is teaching persons to
think critically, creatively and productively, this shows how important attaining an education is
and it is the responsibility of both teachers and students to try and take advantage of the purpose
of education.
Educating or teaching has been implemented in a particular manner from the beginning of time;
there is the teacher and then the student in the classroom. The tools utilized to teach have been
the chalkboard, textbooks, pointer/ruler, chalk, and the teachers voice. These tools and the chalk
and talk method have been utilized for over years and it has proven to be very successful. This is
the method I am use to, these are the tools that I was taught with and it worked quite well. On the
other hand my questions all along were why is it that some students in my class refused to pay
attention or learn unless they were forced to do so and how should educators motivate students
to be interested in education? The solution might be by integrating something students enjoy in
the educating process. Students are no longer interested in the primitive methods of
communicating knowledge therefore as time goes by with the introduction and advancement of
technology, students are more engaged in gamification and e books than ring games and reading
a textbook. The students of the 21st century classroom are more intrigued by advanced
technology and are ready and raring to indulge in a class that integrates technology into a lesson.
Technology integration is not just using the computer as a tool, an add- on or a reward system for
students it is truly using technology to support and extend the curriculum objective and to engage
the students in learning something in a creative and engaging manner (Dias, 1999). Integrating
technology is indeed quite beneficial it allows the teacher to explore other creative means of
teaching his or her lesson; it promotes interactivity, sparks interest, stimulates curiosity, and
develops a sense of independence in students.
It was David Warlick that said we need technology in every classroom and in every student and
teachers hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we
experience much of our world It is up to us as facilitators and educators to educate ourselves
about technology which is the future. If teachers are able to efficiently execute a lesson with the
use of video clips, interactive video games and audio clips they would be appealing to the visual,
auditory and kinesthetic learner. I have always agreed with the idea of integrating fun into
learning and during my time learning about philosophers of education, I garnered that I shared
the thoughts of a great philosopher called Plato. Plato stated that we should not train a child to
learn by force and harshness but direct them to it by what amuses their mind, so that the
facilitator is better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of genius of each. In this case
if a child is intrigued by technology, let us try to integrate this technology into the teaching and
learning process.
As a teacher to be I will ensure that I keep on educating myself about the new technologies on
the rise and how to integrate them in my lessons. Though technology can serve as a positive
addition to the classroom it is up to me and my fellow co-workers to instill in students that this
opportunity should not be abused. Students should be taught to utilize technology for the good of
society, they should not use it to bully others, they should not use it to cheat the system nor
should they use it to waste time. As a future facilitator it is up to me to guide students towards
using technology to uplift themselves. I also believe that the administrators and teachers should
provide students with the equity of access to technology, teach students about online safety,
model communicate and identify the responsible and safe use of technology.










Denise Lloyd