Introduction

The Text Message: Overcoming Fears of New Media in Teaching

It is not with a sense of overwhelming pride that I admit to being educated, at both the elementary and secondary level, during a time when most teachers had never even seen a cell phone let alone owned one.  I vaguely recall my first pager, a device that only made me feel as if I was chained on an electronic leash to my mother or whoever I was dating at the time.  My first AOL e-mail account in college did not make me a citizen of the world.

Today's student, though, has access to much more information, at lightning speeds, and is exposed to different cultures and ideologies across the vast spectrum of the internet.  Most adolescents have already established regular relationships with technologies at an early age.  As a teacher it is necessary to incorporate these familiar technologies into lesson plans in order to facilitate knowledge.

New approaches in modern media seem daunting to me as a teacher and in certain cases I might be less familiar with specific technologies than my students. This is no excuse for not attempting to connect with students in forums that they understand and/or enjoy.  As an entertainer who performs on a regular basis I know the importance of playing to my audience and meeting them at whatever place necessary to  keep their attention and be understood.

It might be easy to argue the merits of chalk on a blackboard over an elaborate power point presentation. (I have seen some terrible ones at the University level), but we would be missing an opportunity.  Reaching our over-stimulated youth is not easy, but if we can teach our lessons on the field they play on, a world where our senses our constantly bombarded with advertisements to late breaking news or celebrity gossip, we are increasing our chances of not only holding their attention but inspiring them to learn more on their own. Providing new and interesting ways to teach classic texts or grammar lessons is the goal.  In a lot of cases we are teaching an old curriculum in a new world, and to be effective we must speak the language of our students in order to communicate our message.

So this will be a reflective blog on teaching the students of this moment in civilization. It will mostly deal with my struggle to catch up with the time and overcome my fear of powerpoint.

- Eric Kufs