Technology to Replace Teachers?

       This article talked about a recent discussion in Pennsylvania about the increased role that technology plays in the classroom. Teachers discussed how during just the past decade technology has started to change the way in which teachers and students interact, as well as the expectations being put on teachers for immediate feedback. Debra Hill from Argosy University stated  “If you don’t believe me, just check your Facebook page and Twitter feed. These dramatic changes are causing us as individual professionals to rethink the way we learn, teach and lead.". As a new teacher I can very much relate to what was meant by this statement. Many, if not nearly all students in school today have grown up with technology; and not just grown up with it, but been bombarded by it. To believe that as a teacher one can simply go up in front of a classroom and lecture for 45 minutes is unrealistic. Students have different expectations than they did even five years ago, they are use to googling a question and knowing the answer in a matter of seconds. Teachers have to be willing to recognize this fact, and understand that technology plays a major role in their students every day lives,. Rather than try to fight the use of technology in the classroom teachers should embrace it with open arms. As this article mentioned there are many programs available that allow teachers to track students reading, writing, math, and science scores from semester to semester. With today's high stakes testing, using these programs to zero in and target areas where students are struggling to perform are beneficial not only to the student, but also to the teacher and the school district. Though these programs are a great tool for teachers, they are also a bit of a double edged sword. I say this because the state and federal government are able to view these same tests scores using similar programs, but rather than looking solely at students scores the government is looking more intently at teachers and schools who are performing well, or not so well, which ultimately translates to higher or lower funding and even job security in some cases. This can be a great benefit or very detrimental to not only schools and teachers, but ultimately students who this affects the most.
       This article also discussed the idea of technology possibly replacing teachers someday. Bruce Taylor said “Look at the amount of technology on the exhibit floor... education software is in its primitive state. Think of where it’s going to go in 10 years. It will be IBM’s Watson and Apple’s Siri and the iPad combined.”. Taylor went on to say “This will allow you to focus on things that make them (students) human and not flesh-and-blood hard drives,” he said. “There will be less dependence on rote answers and more emphasis on the application of content and a greater focus on interpretation and analysis.”. I couldn't agree more with this observation. I think that Mr. Taylor is spot on with his remarks; technology will change the dynamics of the classroom and learning experience, but will never replace a living, breathing teacher. I believe that teachers need to be willing and ready to adapt to this change because it is going to happen and is happening right now. I can't imagine what technology will be available for me to use at the end of my teaching career, but I can't imagine myself not embracing it and using it to its fullest potential either. 


http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/03/27/technology-moving-teachers-from-front-to-center-of-the-classroom.aspx