Philosophy of EducationCurrent Ideas about using technology in the room as a SpecialEducation Teacher The point of any teaching aid, device, or technology is to furtheradvance the education of the students and to facilitate the expressionof ideas in an educational setting. In this light, teachers should aim todeliver their wealth of knowledge and expertise in a manner that isconducive to their particular student population. Technology then,should be used to assist students in a positive way with their academicendeavors and should be up to the particular class of students as towhether or not technology would be a medium that would be bestsuited for learning. It is essential as educators to remember that themain objective of teaching is not to create an unnecessarily difficulttrail to a first class education, but rather to educate students in a waythat they will be able to engage themselves in and ultimately becomeproductive members of society.What theory/ies are guiding this philosophy?My guiding philosophy is derived from a highly successful basketballcoach by the name of Phil Jackson, who utilizes the triangle offensivephilosophyto guide his teams. The triangle offense, although iscertainly complex and has a steeper learning curve for players, hasvery intuitive principles. However, the essence of the entire offensecan be summarized into one phrase, which is to follow the path of leastresistance. The offense is almost completely predicated on the abilityof players to “take what the defense gives you” and utilize the openangles or paths for which to pass the ball through. Similarly, myphilosophy is not to attempt to force learning but rather to let thestudent articulate and demonstrate his/her way of learning. The idea isthat the students will know their best individual way to learn, and as ateacher, my goal is simply to “take what they give me” and educatethem through that medium. The goal of course is to make educationas efficient for these students as possible. If technology is theappropriate medium through which the particular group of studentswishes to be educated, then there is no reason that a teacher shoulddo anything on the contrary.What purpose does the technology serve? The main purpose of technology is to enhance the learning capabilitiesof the student and to provide a medium through which the learningprocess can flourish. If I realize that my students are very involved withtheir technology (examples would include: Ipods, powerpoint, excel,
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