What Teachers Do

Human progress from the Stone Age to the Information Age resulted primarily from amplifying individuals' capacity to function, first by empowering them with crude implements, then tools, then machines, and now technology. This is basic to understanding how teachers can do what they do--better.

I guess it is a basic understanding of how teachers can do what they do. In the world of technology they are many times at a loss due to now knowing what to do with it. Some teachers go for it and try to use the technology and don't know what they're doing and some just leave it alone.

All human activity is driven by information; the more demanding the activity--the greater the need for information. Thus, information can be termed the fuel that powers the teaching-learning process.

I agree with this perception 100%. The best place to get that information, of course, is from the Internet. That is where people get most of their information today and they will tell you so! The more information a teacher has the more she/he can impart on his/her students, so I agree that information can be termed the fuel that powers the teaching. A teacher with no information has nothing to teach his/her students and therefore, should not be in the position of teacher.

The master teachers of the Information Age are those who develop the capacity to navigate the worldwide oceans of information and selectively retrieve that which can provide and enriched experience for their learners.

I agree wholeheartedly with this perception. This is something I cannot do. I can look for information and usually find what I need, but I cannot "navigate the worldwide oceans of information and selectively retrieve" information. It takes a pro for that and I'm definitely not a pro. Teachers who do this for their students are, I would say, few and far between, mostly because of the time factor involved. They simply don't have that time needed to get on the Internet and practice and learn all the skills necessary to become a pro at it.

How teachers manage information has a major impact on the outcome of of he teaching-learning process. Technology facilitates and amplifies the teacher's capacity to provide learners with information of higher fidelity in an individualized, interactive mode. Thompson said that the successful teacher primarily manages information, not students.

I believe this is true. The teacher has to manage their information in such a way that it is easily accessible in order to have an impact of his/her teaching process. Students do well in an atmosphere where the technology facilitates and amplifies the teacher provides learners with information of higher fidelity in an individualized, interactive mode. I can see where the learners are doing well when they are receiving interesting, true information to use in a project if they are working alone or even if they are working with a group. It is important for the students to get high fidelity information.

Teachers plan, communicate, guide, and evaluate. Information technology can be adapted to allow the teacher to do these better and, thus, impact positively the efficiency of the teaching-learning process.

There are marvelous software packages that are written for writing lesson plans, email, and evaluation documents, such as rubrics, that are available for teachers. They definitely positively impact the efficiency of the teaching/learning process and provide more time for teachers to teach.

There is compelling evidence that learning is heightened when teachers create visually rich experiences, thus engaging the learner's entire brain--rather than only half.

This is an example of teachers providing students with high fidelity information and how the students' will react. They are using most of their senses, and so, most of their brain. This is what we as teachers want to make happen more and more.