Passion is not an action (Week 4)

      “What is the difference between a teacher and technology?” was the first question we were asked to answer, in groups. Some of us came up with ideas that said there is always a two-way communication between teachers and students while technology is just a tool for teaching, where it is just a one-way communication. Other than that, teachers can function on their own. However, as for technology, it requires humans touch and control to function. The one most prominent difference between a teacher and technology is ‘passion’. Too many teachers nowadays are teaching about things they are not passionate about. Passion cannot be faked. With passion, educators who are filled with passion make students feel like they mean something. For example, in the video below, Chris Ulmer sets aside time before beginning his class to compliment each and every one of his students. The passion he has to actually make the time and effort to say something meaningful to his students will make them more enthusiastic to learn.    

Good teachers will find a way to get more interested in what they are teaching and to make things more interesting for their students. It requires a little more work and a little more imagination. The best teachers make learning interesting, exciting and important for their students. With all that’s been said, I think passion and technology go well together as they make a good team for learning.

            The next session of our class, we played a game and the purpose of this game was to help us recap the various learning theories and their teaching and assessment methods. From this activity, I’ve learned that it is very effective to incorporate fun activities into lesson plans. This might help students remember a particular lesson better. It may not be possible to incorporate classroom activities into every lecture, but finding room for a little bit of fun in the curriculum can go a long way in facilitating meaningful learning. “Incorporating fun classroom activities into your lesson plan can be intimidating at best, but sometimes our students need more than just a lecture.” (Semma, 2015). Most of us in class remembered the theories clearer after that activity. Hence, it is vital for an educator to try his/her best at keeping lectures exciting and stimulating.

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