Runninghead:PHILOSOPHYOFEDUCATION

MyPhilosophyofEducation:
LiteracyandTechnologyViewedfromaSpecializedLens
JulianneKubina
SonomaStateUniversity


Runninghead:PHILOSOPHYOFEDUCATION

Abstract
Thetechnologyofyesterdayisnotthetechnologyoftoday,anditwillnotbethe
technologyoftomorrow.Thefieldofeducationhasbeenstruckbythisnotionnowmore
thaninanyothertimeinhistory.Technologyhasbecomethemajordrivingforceinthe
philosophyofeducation,anditsvalue,impact,anduseisforeverchanging.The
appropriateandsuccessfulintegrationoftechnologyintolearningenvironmentshasthe
potentialtobenefitallstudents,especiallystudentswithspecialneeds.Nowmorethan
ever,teachersyoung,old,novice,andexperiencedneedtonotonlyrealizethe
importanceoftechnologyintheclassrooms,butembraceitasthefoundationforthe
futureofoursociety.


Runninghead:PHILOSOPHYOFEDUCATION

Thetechnologyofyesterdayisnotthetechnologyoftoday,anditwillnotbethe
technologyoftomorrow.Ifhistoryhastaughtusanything,itisthatthepastisirrelevant
whatsimportantarethepossibilitiesthatthefutureholdsforus.Thefieldofeducation
hasbeenstruckbythisnotionnowmorethaninanyothertimeinhistory.Technology
hasbecomethemajordrivingforceinthephilosophyofeducation,anditsvalue,
impact,anduseisforeverchanging.Theappropriateandsuccessfulintegrationof
technologyintolearningenvironmentshasthepotentialtobenefitallstudents.Now
morethanever,teachersyoung,old,novice,andexperiencedneedtonotonlyrealize
theimportanceoftechnologyintheclassrooms,butembraceitasthefoundationforthe
futureofoursociety.
Technologyhasbecomeahouseholdname,yetitisanythingbutuniversal.
Humanshaveutilizedtechnologysincethebeginningoftimetomakelifemoreefficient
moresustainable.Definingtechnologyinsimplicity,however,isamuchmore
complicatedtask.Itisapencil,aknife,acar,acomputer,agame,adigitalrecord
player,arobotitencompasseseverythingweusetomakelifemoreefficient.According
toBeatham,technologyalsocomesinnonmaterialformsasappendagesofmental
processessuch
asconcepts,methods,language(i.e.,pictographs,phonemes,syntax,etc.),the
alphabet,andalgorithms.Underthesedefinitions,technologyisameanstoan
end(s)(p.65).Inessence,technologycanbeviewedasanymaterialornonmaterial
structurethathelpsshapeourdaytodaylives.


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Today,ourdefinitionoftechnologyisprimarilyconcernedwithdigitalformsthe
internet,software,apps,coding,communicationprograms,anddata/information
storage.Itisatext,atweet,alike,aselfie,ahashtag.ItisGoogle,YouTube,
Amazon,Wikipedia,Facebook,Snapchat.Itisthemostcomplex,pervasiveforce
drivingtheverynatureofhumanexistencetoday.
Inmylife,Ihavewitnessedamultitudeofsignificantchangeswithinoursociety.I
grewupduringadistinctivelypowerfultimeperiodintheageoftechnology.I
experiencedpreinternetlifeforanumberofyearswhilealsospendingtheolderyears
ofmychildhoodimmersedintechnologyexploration.Becausemyparentsdidnotgrow
upwithaninternetconnection,myfriendsandIlearnedhowtonavigatetheWorldWide
Webonourown.Wefiguredoutthesystem,tookrisks,andlearnedwithoutever
knowingwhatitwasreallyallabout.Asayoungerstudent,Iwassurroundedbythe
unchartereddevelopmentofdigitaltechnologythatwasnewandforeign.Beingso,
technologywasthrownintoclassroomsandstudentswereexpectedtolearnand
navigateacomputer,usuallyonlywiththeassistanceofMavisBeacon.Teacherswere
simultaneouslylearninghowtouseandintegratetechnologyintotheclassroomforthe
firsttime,anditwasprimarilyusedforresearchandwriting,notforingenuityoflearning.
Liketheverynatureoftechnology,myperspectiveofithasevolvedand
improvedovertime.Inthepast,Ifeltasurgingresistancetowardstechnologyhype,
andhopedthatitwouldneveroverpowerthehumanisticmoralsofoursociety.Today,I
stillholdontothishope,butIamnowoptimisticaboutthepowerthatmodern
technologyholdsintheeducationofoursociety.Asastudentandasaneducator,I


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haveadoptedtheidealsofaparticipatorycultureinwhichlearninglendsitselfto
creativeexpression,collaborativelearning,risktaking,andthefreedomtoexplore
uncharteredterritories.Inaparticipatorylearningenvironment,knowledgehappensby
encouraginglearningasemergentratherthanprestructuredtransmediaratherthan
unified,situationalratherthanuniversalandcollaborativeratherthanhierarchical
(Parker,p.149).Itisinitsveryessenceaculturethatallowseverystudenttoachieve
hisorherpotential,andtechnologyisthetoolthatallowsthemtogetthere.
ChildrengrowingupintodaysDigitalWorlddonotknowalifewithoutadigital
connection.Theirdaytodaylivesaresaturatedwithcomplextoolsthatinfluence
educational,political,economic,andsocialvalues.Forthem,moderntechnologyis
morethanatrenditsalifestyle.Itkeepstheminformed,connected,andsocial.With
theinternetbeingsuchavastinformationbase,studentsarefindingitaneffectivetool
foracquiringknowledge.Theynowcanretrievealltypesofinformationeasierandfaster
thaneverbeforefromtheircomputersorcellphones.Nolongercanquestionsinthe
classroomgounansweredwiththetouchofafingerortheclickofamouse,any
wondercanberesolved.Theinternethasalsogiveneducationanew
dimensiondistancelearningandonlineeducation.Studentsnolongerhaveto
physicallyattendclassestobeapartofaclassroom.Theycanalsoextendlearningat
homethroughaflippedclassroommodel,wheretheylearnnewconceptsandskills
independentlyandsynthesizetheseskillsintheclassroomwiththeirpeersandteacher.
Today,technologyandliteracyareinextricablylinked.Technologyishelping
teacherstoexpandbeyondlinear,textbasedlearningandtoengagestudentsin


Runninghead:PHILOSOPHYOFEDUCATION

literacywholearnbestinotherways.Itsroleinschoolshasflourishedintoaversatile
learningtoolthathaschangedthewaywedelivercontent,andcreateandassess
knowledge.Digitaltechnologyhasalsoopenedupnewdoorsforstudentstonotonly
createcontent,buttosharetheircreationswiththeirfriendsandtheworld.This
participationinnewmediaenvironmentsisawaytobecreativeandinnovative,butitis
alsonewopportunitiesforourstudentstoacquireandsynthesizeinformationina
meaningfulway(Parker,p.144).Thisparticipationalsoallowsyouthtoform
communitiesbuiltuponcommoninterestsandbeapartofapeerbasedlearning
communityoneofthemostpowerfulinfluencesoveryouth.
Aboveanythingelse,Ibelievethemostremarkableaspectoftechnologyisthatit
allowshumanstoachievewhattheywouldnotbeabletootherwise.Thisisespecially
evidentforstudentswithdisabilitiesphysical,mental,andemotional.Formostofus,
technologymakesthingseasier.Forapersonwithadisability,itmakesthingspossible
(Edyburn,p.8).Therearemanydifferenttypesoftechnologythatareusedinspecial
educationclassrooms,fromdevicestoaddressspecificdisabilitiestostandarddevices
thatcanbeusedinmodifiedways.Manypiecesoftechnologyarealsobeingusedin
mainstreamclassroomswithpositiveeffectsforstudentswithallkindsofabilities.A
studentwithalearningdisabilitycanusetexttospeechprogramstoallowthemtoread,
andastudentwhoisnonverbalcancommunicatewithhispeersandteachersthrough
thesameprogram.Furthermore,anassistivereadingsoftwarecanallowastudentwith
AttentionDeficitDisordertobetterattendtohisreading,reducedistractibility,and
increasereadingspeed.Technologycanalsoprovidesuchstudentswithopportunities


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toengageinbasicdrillandpractice,simulations,exploratory,or
collaborative/communicationactivitiesthatarematchedtotheirindividualneedsand
abilities.
Technologyhasthepowertoimpactstudentswithdisabilitiesasmorethanjusta
meanstoanend.Notonlycancomputersfacilitateabroaderrangeofeducational
activitiestomeetavarietyofneedsforstudentswithlearningdisabilities,butadaptive
technologycanenableeventhosestudentswithalltypesofdisabilitiestobecome
activelearnersinthegeneraleducationclassroom.Additionally,moststudentsare
drawntotechnologyandstudentsinspecialeducationandtheycanbemoremotivated
toworkwhentheygettouseatechnologydeviceintheclassroom.Technologycan
alsoimproveconfidenceforstudentswithdisabilities.Theyaremoreapttotakerisks
achievegreaterlevelsofindependencereachouttotheirteachersandpeerstoask
questionsandcollaborateselfadvocateforthemselvesandseekoutnew
opportunities.
Despitetheseopportunities,adoptionoftechnologybyschoolsisstillanything
butubiquitous.Schoolsacrossthecountryarestilldebatingtheinclusionoftechnology
inclassrooms.Technologyismovingatsucharapidpacethatmanyteachersare
fallingbehind,whilethemajorityofstudentsareonestepahead.This,however,isa
catchtwentytwo.Studentsarelearningfromoneanotherwithoutbeingguidedwith
appropriateboundariesandlimits.Thereisaparadoxinthehumanuseoftechnology:
themorepowerfulandindispensablethetechnologybecomes,themoreitbecomes
invisible,becauseitbecomesassumed"(Beatham,p.65).Wecannolongerassumethe


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limitsoftechnologyamongouryouth,andthattheycanacquiretechnologicalskillson
theirownwithoutadultinterventionorsupervision.Yes,studentsoftodaydoknowmore
aboutnewmediaenvironmentsthanmostparentsandteachers.But,tosaythat
childrenarenotvictimsofmediaisnottosaythatthey,anymorethananyoneelse,
havefullymasteredwhatare,afterall,complexandstillemergingsocialpractices
(Jenkins,p.12).Atthispoint,wedonotneedtoprotectthemsomuchasengagethem
incriticaldialoguesthathelpthemtoanalyzetheirinternalizedexperiences
Despiteeverybenefit,technologyisnotsomethingtoberelieduponin
educationinnowayshoulditeverreplacetheauthenticityofteaching.Itshould,
however,bevaluedasatoolforstrengtheningexploration,creativity,andvarietyof
learning.Insideandoutsideoftheclassroom,itholdsthepowertoextendbeyond
humancapacitytobringustouncharteredterritoriessaturatedwithsharedknowledge
andproblemsolving.Digitaltechnologypromotesinformationaboveall,both
multiplyingitandpromotingitselfasthesolutiontotheproblemitcreated(Beatham,p.
67).
Nowmorethanever,weneedtoshiftourfocusfromthewhysoftechnologyto
thehows.Schoolsmustdevelopplansforhowtheywillteachtheirstudentstonotjust
usetechnologyasatool,buttobecriticalandknowledgeableaboutthetaskthetool
canaccomplish.Furthermore,schoolsneedtoprovidemoresupporttoteachersin
developingeffectivetechnologyprograms.Teacherswhoembracemodern
technologiesandstaycurrentontherapidlychangingtechnologieswillnotonlybe


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creatinguniversallyaccessiblelearningenvironmentsthatadvanceliteracy,butwillalso
bepreparingstudentsforthefutureofoursociety.

References
Beatham,M.(2008).ToolsofInquiry:SeparatingToolandTasktoPromoteTrue
Learning.J.EducationalTechnologySystems(1sted.,Vol.37,pp.6170).
BaywoodPublishing.

Edyburn,D.(2013).Criticalissuesinadvancingthespecialeducationtechnology
evidencebase.ExceptionalChildren,80(1),724.

Jenkins,H.,Clinton,K.,Purushotma,R.,Robison,A.J.,Weigel,M.(2009).Confronting
thechallengesofparticipatoryculture:Mediaeducationforthe21stcentury.
Chicago:TheJohnD.andCatherineT.MacArthurFoundation.

Parker,J.(2010).TeachingTechSavvyKids:BringingDigitalMediaintotheClassroom,
Grades512.ThousandOaks,CA:Corwin.


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