Type I and Type II Technology

When teachers use Type I technology they are using technology very 2 dimensionally. This type is controlled by the teacher and there is no student participation required for the lesson to continue or go smoothly.

Example 1- Last semester I had a professor that I had twice a week for 2 hours each session. It was a very interesting topic, however, for the two hours straight she would play a slideshow and verbally explain everything. This works fine for a while, but after half an hour of sitting in a dark room listening to a monotoned voice and watching a screen change pictures slowly your attention begins to go elsewhere.

Example 2- I have had classes since middle school where we were required to read articles off computer screens. I feel reading an article off a computer screen, and not having to do anything with the material, simply bores the student and irritates their eyes.

Example 3- In an anthropology class I have taken the teacher would put in movies, 3 out of every 4 days, and leave. Never asking us anything about them, or expecting us to write anything down.

Type II technology is a way for teachers to use technology to get their student involved in their learning. Its a tool that helps in keeping and maintaining their interests throughout the lesson, while still teaching them what you had planned for them to learn.

Example 1- In high school I took a piano class. There were 14 of us in this class and we each had our own piano's attached to mac computers that held a program, as well as a set of ear phones. This was a great tool because we could all be playing at the same time, in completely different lessons, without interrupting each other while getting the maximum amount of playing time.

Example 2- In 7th grade we had a unit in language arts called the Holocaust Unit. Because I went to school in Maine we had the new mac laptops which we did most of our unit on. The laptops enabled my teacher to introduce the subject in such a way that she gave us links that we could explore as she talked giving us something to keep our attention while she was teaching what she needed to.

Example 3-As a senior I apprenticeship in a Middle school English class. Again they had the mac's but they were newer than mine and I learned of a new teaching technique. The teacher I was working with had had her students make a pod cast of themselves speaking in their best Mainah' accent and then present it to the class. This is a fun project of the kids who, like myself, are not crafty, but enjoy doing things other than papers.