Embracing rather than condemning: is it possible to move away from bitterness towards tech?

The moments from Monday morning’s session that stood out profoundly for me all centered around a shift of mindset that the education world needs to have towards technology in the classroom. From interacting with parents to taking cell phones from students, the content that we covered all centers around the development in the technological world that has taken place in the past twenty years especially, and how in many cases the educational world has not acknowledged that. Personally, I felt convicted during this part of our session about how to address students use of technology, particularly their cell phone use. When working with teenagers in the past, I have always approached cell phone use with the “keep it out of sight” mentality. In my own life, I set clear boundaries with my technology use because I struggle to remain present if I am not doing that. Thus, I would categorize myself as being slightly resistant to technology. However, my high school students will largely not share that mindset. Monday morning, I walked away convicted about integrating cell phone use into my English and History classes, which admittedly will require me to learn more about how to do this. In my original classroom management plan, I stated that I would have students place their cellular device in labeled pockets that hang on the wall so that they will not be able to access them when class is going on. I want to alter that plan, instead allowing students to keep their device on their desk so that they can access it for research, feedback, and assessment, under an attitude of trust rather than mistrust from me as the instructor.