Educator Interview — Eric Beck, REALMS Middle School, Bend, Oregon


of the fluidity and evolution of knowledge, the changeable nature of science, and the rate at which our understanding of the world is growing. I grew up thinking that knowledge was much more static and that it had to be delivered by the “experts.” My students feel empowered to discover knowledge for themselves. The additional skill (in addition to the basics of reading, researching) they need is to be able to discern the trustworthiness of what they read, see, and hear. An abundance of information is at their fingertips -


They need to have well-developed filters to help them sort out what is most important, applicable, and valid.


Q: How do you use technology in the classroom or the field?


Teacher Eric Beck with REALMS Middle School students doing stream research. Photo courtesy of Eric Beck.


Q: In your history of teaching, how has the use of media and technology changed for you and your students, both in and out of the classroom?


A: Media and technology have become much more widespread, both in and out of school. Students expect it to be incorporated into lessons - not every lesson or topic, but many of them. As a teacher, I must be competent with projectors, dual platform computers, the internet, mp3 files, photograph manipulation, video production, word processing and spreadsheet creation. At the same time, technology is a great gift for educators - being instant motivation for some students, a reward for others, a vehicle for feeling successful, and many great tools for learning. It is possible to put professional tools into the hands of students and they will often feel powerful, knowledgeable, and skilled.


Q: What challenges, if any, do you think educators have in dealing with the influence of entertainment media and technology on students?


A: The biggest thing I try to accomplish with my students is to give them the tools to be critical viewers - to question the motivation, bias, and credentials of the deliverers of information. They have more choices of where they get their information than we have ever had. The technology can either be a distraction or a powerful tool for learning. Likely, it is both for my students. I hope that I help teach them discretion in how they approach and use technology.


Q: Now that there is seemingly an answer for everything just a Google search away, have you noticed a change in the way your students perceive knowledge and learning from when you were in school?


A:My current students have a much better understanding CLEARING 2010


A: I use technology for data collection (stream sampling, GPS data, photographs) in the field and in the lab. We use technology for the production of our culminating products, including books, posters, slide shows, videos, on-line posting, and graphs and maps. We use the internet for research, sometimes to the exclusion of books. In addition to teaching my students the skills of determining importance and collecting information from books and other texts, we also practice these skills with video, audio, and internet resources.


Q: How do your students respond to technology as a learning tool?


A: The response of my students to technology is almost unanimously positive. The difference I see between students is that some grapple with learning new programs or being willing to explore on their own and figure out a new program, while others seem to intuitively figure out how to work everything that they are put in front of.


Q: What role do you think technology will have in the classroom of the future?


A: Technology will obviously have an ever-increasing role in our lives. Effective teachers will continue to be required to learn new technologies and schools will continue to be “forced” to purchase more and more technology in order to provide their students with a well-rounded education.


Q: In your opinion, how can we better utilize technology to help support rather than replace authentic educational experiences?


A: From the point of view of many of our students, technology is an authentic educational experience. The “best practice” for education in 2010 is to combine technology with hands-on experiences, a connection to student’s homes, collection of data and primary research, collaboration with experts, and creation of products that let students demonstrate their knowledge and passions and share their learning with their community and beyond. Technology is an important tool at every one of these steps.


www.clearingmagazine.org/online Page 23


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