Educational Technology
Educational TechnologySee also:
Debating Technology in the Classroom
Teachers have more tools at their disposal today for educating our youth than at any other time in history. All of the traditional tools are still available - chalk, blackboards, pencils, paper, books. However, computers have added a new dimension to classrooms, teaching and the process of learning. Many feel that the verdict is still out on the effectiveness of technology use in the classroom. Much has been written on the topic.
PROS - use of technology in the classroom
INEFFECTIVE use of technology in the classroom
Feel free to add your thoughts to this page, too: http://edtech.coedit.net/DebatingTechnologyInTheClassroom
Variety is the key. No single teaching technique is a magic bullet. Computer training of various sorts is a good thing, but don't make it the end-all-be-all. Learning word-processing and spreadsheets is a good thing in my opinion, but alone won't make a kid prepared.
A computer in every classroom. When I first began teaching (and before) I loved the idea of a computer in every classroom. A few years ago though this phrase really began to frustrate me. "A" computer is only minimally useful in the grand scheme of things. There are two shortcomings in this technological rush to put "a" computer in every classroom. One has been addressed. Having more computers in the school so that all students have more access. More and more schools have labs with multiple computers that students can use. The other still needs to be addressed - teacher training. There are people in my school who've had a computer in their classroom for 5 or more years but never used them. I agree with Cuba that in many respects, we have thrown money and computers into the schools, but have not established the necessary frameworks to insure success. Technology is no panacea for what ails education today but it can be part of the solution when implemented properly.
After teaching maths for 10 years and currently studying computing and information technology, I believe there often exists the concept of sexy technology. By this, I mean someone says it's cool and all of a sudden everyone must use it - why? Where is objectivity? So many times, the IT department tells me I should be doing this, using that, just as the wind blows east, west, north or south, and all of this so the IT department can say we implemented this and that. And the thing that bugs me the most is I gain results without its use. I'm not condemning IT outright, just demonstrating objectivity. After all, some of the world's well-known innovators never used it! And there is nothing worse then standing there with a projector wired to my laptop and it all fails - "OK, people, let's get the books out, this doesn't seem to be working right now". If the point can be expressed simply using a blackboard and chalk, then do it that way. If the point can be expressed better with the aid of technology then do it! Don't complicate the issue; KISS.
The real question is whether the content or medium meets the needs of the child at each particular age. -- Sedobah
SueLarsen I have been teaching computer support and networking for ten years. Computing is one of my hobbies; you would probably call me a computer nerd, a title I proudly accept. I must agree that throwing money and technology at education has been a waste of money in most cases. I have been involved with personal computers since their introduction as a serious business tool.
Before becoming a teacher, I witnessed the emergence and implementation of PCs in a U.S. Fortune 500 company. Business gets it, they see how effective use of technology can leverage their human resources. Education, on the other hand, having little competition and no profit motive, will likely continue to KISS. The biggest reason throwing computers at the class room has largely been a waste of money in the past is the lack of training and the lack of support, both of which cost much more than the computer. It is myopic to think putting a computer in a classroom will add significantly to the learning of the students.
Forward thinking visionary planning would see a computer on every student desk. It only starts there, however, and if that was all that happened, it would be a bigger waste of money. The real return-on-investment comes after providing a support staff with staff-to-systems ratios like those of a business. Rations of, say, one support person for every 100 to 200 computers; not the one support person for every one to two thousand computers typical in education. The real money-maker comes when the teacher is trained at the equivalent number of hours as the corporate environment; not expect teachers to spend their own money and precious free time for classes. It is common for businesses to train most of their employees for as much as forty to 80 hours each year.
Once the "infrastructure" mentioned is in place, the teacher can leverage his or her time. An automated presentation may be saved, edited and fine-tuned for wide distribution, say an entire school district. Now that's leverage; try that with a chalkboard. As assessment becomes computerized, scoring, grading and reporting are all automated. Digital curriculum can bring the free-market and competition into education as curriculum developers compete for carefully spent dollars, the results of which are readily available for comparison through automated assessment and reporting.
Today's youth are the digital natives, they speak the language. We, the teaching establishment, are mostly digital emigrants who need to learn the language.
Preparing for Yesterday's Battles
Looking at my kids' homework, it seems our current educational material is too rooted in the physical and physics. Don't get me wrong, physics and geometry have its place, but due to the loss of America's manufacturing base, our work environment is more about symbolic processing than physics. I'd suggest they update the materials to teach more set theory, statistics, category techniques, complexity management, etc. perhaps at the expense of geometry and physics. (Yes, more of everything would be nice, but in practice we have to make choices.)
Now it is time for you to update, as the new country is upon us since our current economic crisis. We will be bringing manufacturing back home, as it is our only way out of this current cycle of economic decline. Suddenly, old is new again!
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