Group Discussion 1

Group 2 Discussion No. 1
Technology has changed the way teachers teach students. From the sage-on-the-stage concept, teachers are now famously called guides-on-the-side. Teachers will cease to be sources of information for their students; instead they will be “facilitators of learning”. Instead of being subject experts, teachers are now seen by the students as classroom managers. With the way the definition of knowing has shifted --- from being able to remember information to being able to find information ---- the teachers of tomorrow are the ones that will help students find and use information. In a sense, it is scary to be a teacher of tomorrow. Teachers give up some form of control. However, the end result is that they get students who are able to think for themselves, problem solve, and are in charge of their own learning. And that is what every teacher should hope to achieve. With technology, the types and shapes of interactions among teachers (peers) have changed too. Technology provides opportunities among teachers to be multitaskers. They can interact with their peers on different levels at the same time (e.g. communicate with other peers via internet and telephone, and still manipulating and distributing papers to others) at the same time. With the convenience of multitasking by technology, it is demanding and challenging on the teachers’ part to become updated on the ever changing and updating part of technology. Therefore, learning communities and professional development at school is imperative. Teachers’ profession expands from being teacher to being a coach, trainer, mentor, and facilitator to their peers so that all become up to date with technology. Technology has also afforded the classroom teacher greater access to parents and guardians of those they teach. With Instant Messaging, online grading services such as teacherease.com and mygradebook.com, as well as good old fashioned email, parents can be contacted daily (or immediately) on the performance and behaviors of their child in the classroom. Technology has made education's role on the community efficient and effective. Efficient: With the Internet, schools have amazingly real time access to local and world events. Most news broadcasting networks have become on-line. They offer video-streaming and podcast files to enhance their written and still image productions. Many websites offer online educational resources that augment what the textbooks are giving in the classroom. Discovery Channel, History Network, National Geographic and a lot others provide science, history, math facts in written, image, and video formats. All these resources can be retrieved in astoundingly short time. Effective: The use of real-time video conferencing, chat rooms, emails, Skype and other communication innovations have allowed schools to connect to other schools or people from all over the world. Students could now communicate with them and benefit from each others' exchange. Learning has truly far-reaching