Questions and Answers

Something that I am continually wondering while taking education classes that inform us about technology methods for teaching students is whether or not that technology is really getting the point across to students. I come from the small town school where the technology that we had in the classroom consisted of an overhead projector and a graphing calculator. And believe it or not, that was almost too much for me to handle. I still to this day am illiterate when it comes to computing problems on a graphing calculator and using the graphing options that we learned about in school. It makes me wonder if with all of the new technology that we are introducing to these students, are they really understanding what the concept is and why we are teaching it? Or are they just going through the motions and learning how to use cool, new technology?
After investigating that question with the technology presentation that we gave on Geometer's Sketchpad, I think it can be a little of both. I also believe that there is a balance between the two, learning the concept or learning to use the technology, that can go one way or the other depending upon how the instructor uses those tools. I believe technology is a great thing, and there are more and more students who are learning concept because of it, but what happens when we replace the paper and pencil with a computer screen and mouse? Are we creating a great way to learn or depriving our students of basic knowledge?
Again I think those questions rely heavily on how that technology is used, and I hope to be the teacher who conveys the message that learning the concept is the main objective and technology components supplement my lessons.
Just some things I have been thinking about.......