Response to Dexter's eTIPs

Sara Dexter's article focuses on the teacher as the principle designer
of instruction and the technological support the school environment
provides the educator.  In the article, Dexter said that "educational
technology does not possess inherent instructional value: a teacher
designs into the instruction any value that technology adds to the
teaching and learning processes."  This forced me to reflect on a
common method of technology integration that teachers use, namely
powerpoint presentations.  For many educators, powerpoint
presentations in the classroom consist of flashing colorful notes from
an overhead projector while lecturing students.  This type of
technology appears to benefit the classroom as a whole, but fails to
give students what Dexter calls "an outcome impossible to have without
technology."   Clearly-typed notes projected on a board offer little
opportunity for students to reflect, engage or interact with the
content.   Little is done to enrich the original objective and methods
of the lesson, or to share key facts and information about the lesson.
 The outcome could be obtained without any technology at all.

Using technology to aid in note taking may satisfy some educators and
administrators, but misses the true purpose of integrating media into
the classroom.  With Dexter's eTIPs in mind, educators should look to
use technology as a way to provide visual support to note taking.
Technology is a resource which allows both the student and the teacher
opportunities such as chatting with classrooms around the corner or
around the world.  Rather than using powerpoint presentations as a
neatly typed outline, educators can place videos, music or interactive
activities within their notes. This would allow teachers to use
technology to alter their educational delivery and achieve outcomes
impossible by using notes alone.