While technology plays a big role in
the classroom experience, the last thing an instructor needs is more of it,
according to Jordan Shapiro, educational technology writer and professor at Temple
University.
Shapiro, who teaches humanities and
is the digital learning coordinator in his department, has flipped his
classroom and provides his students every type of content he can find that can
be accessed from any type of digital device. However, he still reserves
classroom time for working with students on a more personal basis.
“My job is to know where the
treasures are, that all paths lead to jewels of critical thinking,” he wrote in
a column for Forbes.
“This happens through nuanced conversation, through discussion, through debate
and interaction.”
Shapiro said that education
technology is a tool to get content to students and allow instructors to teach.
“Online, I certainly can’t teach
students to verbally articulate complex arguments,” he wrote. “Nor can I teach
them through conversational debate. But I can teach them to think critically
about online tests and to express themselves articulately in writing.”
