Prensky (2008) writes:

Many teachers resist being taught to use technology. This also makes sense – teachers should
resist, because it is not they who should be using the technology to teach students, but rather
their students who should be using it, as tools to teach themselves. The teacher’s role should not
be a technological one, but an intellectual one – to provide the students with context, quality
assurance, and individualized help. (Of course, those teachers who love technology are free to
learn and use it.) (p.2).

Develop your opinion on this point and prepare a post to share with your peers.

To an extent I get where Prensky (2008) is coming from, his main point stipulates the idea
that teachers should resist using technology to teach students, rather the students should be using
it to teach themselves. I understand that students should take on the opportunity of using
technology and teach themselves however, I personally feel that Prensky’s idea is too extreme on
one side of the spectrum, positing the idea that most teachers should not be using technology at
all. Instead of taking on such an extreme point and end, most teachers should rather embrace
technology and use it as a means of assisting students. Teachers would not be forced to use
technology, but rather educated in terms of its benefits for both teacher and student. Some of
these benefits include creating a more engaged environment, incorporates different learning
styles, improves collaboration, prepares children for the future and it allows teachers to connect
with students. (Walden University, n.d). If teachers realize how it can benefit students, they
would surely put in the effort to embrace and use technology, this also includes benefits for
teachers, providing a more engaging environment and actually making their work load easier.

Highlighting Prensky’s (2008) point “The teacher’s role should not be a technological one,
but an intellectual one”, I feel that this in itself is contradictory as he points out a teacher’s role
should be an intellectual one, however, how can one claim the role of an “intellectual one” if one
cannot even use technology themselves. In order to claim the role of an “intellectual one” one
should constantly be learning and evolving their philosophy and pedagogy style, adding onto
their personal experiences and skills.

In conclusion, the world is constantly changing, and with the introduction of something
new, generally speaking, the older generation oppose many new ideologies and are set in their
ways. Instead of seeing it as a challenge or burden, “older” teachers can be helped and assisted
with using technology and embracing it in their classrooms. Adding onto the above point, I feel
that as educators we should always be evolving and learning new things, how can we as
educators expect students to learn or use technology, if we ourselves cannot even put in the same
effort to do the same. The classroom should be an engaging and learning environment for both
teacher and student.

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 References

Prensky, M. (2008). The Role of Technology in teaching and the classroom. Educational
Technology. Retrieved on July 14, 2020 from http://marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-
The_Role_of_Technology-ET-11-12-08.pdf

Walden University. (n.d). Top 5 Benefits of Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved on July 14,
2020 from https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/education/resource/top-five-benefits-of-
technology-in-the-classroom

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