Discussion 5

This article addresses something very important that we often leave out of the equation when we are discussing technology integration—teachers’ beliefs about its value. The article looks at how teacher-centered low level technology, such as word processing and internet searches, is being used in the classroom, and student-centered higher level technology is not. Etrmer is arguing that integrating technology into the classroom for the sake of saying that we as teachers are using technology is not enough. Ertmer references the Cuban et al. (2001) article in which the authors look at the high-tech schools California that have the resources, but the teachers approach to teaching through these resources is still teacher-centered and therefore not exercising best practices. Ertmer is hinting at the fact that resources are not the real issue with integrating technology in a way that improves the students’ educational experience by pinpointing teachers’ use of methods that are incapatable with technology integration. Ertmer says that “beliefs are far more influential than knowledge in determining how individuals organize and define tasks and problems” which according to Ertmer, “makes them stronger predictors of behavior.” When I think about my educational experiences, I can definitely see now how important technology beliefs are in regards to how much and in what way it is used in a classroom. One of my former English professors at Auburn, a self-proclaimed Luddite, completely refused to use any technology inside or outside of the class. I took his class during the time following email becoming the official form of communication at Auburn. Still, he refused to use email and made us write our names and phone numbers on an index card on the first day of class. This was how we were to communicate, but I cannot say that his refusal to use technology as a tool in his classroom took away from my educational experience. He was the best English professor I ever had, and my belief in that will probably influence me as I enter the profession.