In Tuesday’s post about using Google Earth to teach about Ancient Rome, I asked readers how they fit such tech lessons into their instruction.
Over at the Teach Paperless blog, Shelly Blake-Plock takes me to task over the notion that teachers need to “fit in” technology. He makes a great point: if you are struggling to fit it in, you are likely not using technology meaningfully. It should be a natural tool for your classroom.
“If you feel like you have to ‘fit tech in’ to your classroom practice, then you’re quickly going to find yourself frustrated,” he writes. “You might as well be forced to ‘fit in’ a discussion about orange juice. Or sea lions. Or the Knights Templar. Or be forced to wear mittens while you erase from the chalkboard.”
He also offers some good advice:
“Use what you need. Chances are there is something for you online. One way or the other, may you not fall for the lunacy of ‘fitting tech in’ any more than you fall for the folly that technology is ‘not for you’.”
