Keeping an Open Mind

As our summer session is winding down in the MAC program, I've been thinking about all the new technology we can use in the classroom. I've enjoyed learning about all the creative possibilities that can enhance our teaching, such as using cell phones in the classroom (for polling etc.), facebook (for creating class group discussions), twitter (for immediate feedback/discussion among students), and many others we discussed. At first I kept thinking "oh great, yet another thing to detract from actual learning and yet another way to contribute to a generation already plagued by short-attention spans!" But the more we use these tools in our classes, the more I see valid ways to use them. I'm sure my initial reluctance stems from my traditional education where a teacher lectured and the only technology we experienced was perhaps a video or DVD viewing. I'm making a consious effort to get out of that mindset and join the new wave of information technology. It's easy to feel overwhelmed by just how much information is out there but just like with anything else in life, the more you learn about it, the more comfortable you might be with it. I'm learning to appreciated the class by picking and choosing what might work for me in an English class.