Summer School

In job applications and interviews I stress my technical abilities and desire to serve as a role model for lifelong, independent learning. To back this up, this summer I have plans for a number of independent learning activities. The first of these is learning Moodle, a free, open source Learning Management System used in many schools. I've installed it on my laptop (along with the associated software that makes up the platform on which it runs) and set up my first course: Python for Informatics. This is a just a copy of PythonLearn - Self-Paced Learning Python that I made for myself as an exercise in learning Moodle concepts and functions, but I will actually use the course to learn the Python computer language. At several recent interviews the schools have expressed interest in my programming background and if I'd be qualified to teach programming or other computer-related skills. From what little I've seen of it so far, Python seems well-suited for the high school classroom.

The Role of Technology in Education

A question on a recent job application asked about technology in education. Such questions often force me to reflect on the topic and focus my ideas; this one was no different. I take the standard view of "technology as a tool" and consider four kinds of tool use: 

1. Technology as a tool for communication and collaboration. This use is well-known and includes e-mail, using the web for access to information, collaborative software and social media for group projects, etc.
2. Technology as a tool for the expression of ideas. My best example is from mathematics: software that allows you not just to visualize mathematical ideas but to increase the number of dimensions through 3-D and animation; to emphasize or discriminate features using color and pattern;  to show the development of complex ideas using selective hide/show, etc. The best software makes this expressiveness available to students as well as teachers.
3. Technology as an extension of self. Through digitization and storage, technology enables a teacher to provide differentiated instruction both in the classroom, by increasing the number of modalities by which material is presented; and outside the classroom, by providing extra help or extended topics for which class time is not available.
4. Technology for ubiquitous data-gathering and number-crunching. This use of technology opens up possibilities for extended, fine-tuned assessments of learning and teaching; it also raises ethical issues.

In addition to all of these uses, exposure to the technology that will be encountered in higher education and the workplace is a necessary part of secondary education.

My original answer to the question follows.