Is it okay to be Techno-Illiterate as a Teacher?

Wow, this question is amazing to me? Are we even having this discussion? I am an older student, and can attest to the changes that have occurred in the education system in the past 20 years. The field of education is far more technologically based now than when I was graduating from high school 17 years ago. Mr. Fisch’s discussion of this matter is meant to be taken I believe in the same manner as my opening statement, as a facetious statement. Do teacher’s need to be aware of technological advancements is to me the same as asking if the President needs to know if we are going to war! Teachers are crucial to the lives of children for the entirety of their education careers. Once these same students enter the work force it is directly related to some form of teaching that has been imparted to them within their lifetime. It stands to reason then that education is fundamentally responsible for the achievement of our young people in the world. Of course there are factors that encourage or prohibit individual student development. This is not the topic of our discussion. Do teachers have a responsibility to their students to become literate in technology? Fundamentally yes they do.

How can a student be educated by a teacher who does not understand the world from which that student is living now, or will enter upon graduation? Mr. Fisch stated that a teacher needs to know how to do something to teach it. I completely agree. I also believe the most important comment that Mr. Fisch said was that teachers need to teach students that it is appropriate to continually learn throughout their entire life. Teachers do not “know” everything, how can they, the world is moving so fast, and there are so many different areas of proficiency. However, teachers “know” how important and powerful knowledge is, and if we can indicate the severity of knowledge, as a tool to achieve success, we have taught our student’s life’s greatest lesson. Success is not how much money we make; success is when one knows how to find the answers one seeks. Technology is a wonderful tool for which to seek knowledge.