Are we doing what is best for our students, or are we doing what is most convenient for us?
In this day and age there is a belief that all we have to do for the students in our school systems is add some technology and have a new educational theory and they will be prepared.
This is NOT true.
The entire design of a school must be rethought/redesigned/reimplemented in order to make true progress for our students. While students do live in an age full of technology, we must introduce this technology in a planned way, one in which the learning process of the student is taken into account.
For example, while it is true that a great many students use Twitter, this would not be something that should be added into the educational system. With Twitter the posts of all who you follow has to be scrolled through in order to find the ones that you want to read. The others are not read at all because the student has already decided that the Tweet is not worth his time. A student will not scroll through their Tweets to find ones from class. They would rather find the ones from famous stars and sports stars. Setting up a seperate Twitter account just for school will not word either, because (1) many students will not log in to check it and (2) some students cannot check Tweets at all.
This second point is one that I should elaborate on. The use of technology in the classroom is a wonderful goal, but we have to keep in mind that in order to implement anything related to technology, ALL students must have access to it. The school systems that can afford to give students laptops are few in number. Even if this is given to them, we cannot assume that the student can access the internet from home. The family may not be able to afford to have internet access.
This is equivalent to telling a student to go home and do his homework, but he cannot because he doesn't have any paper to write on, or anything to write with.
(If you think that this doesn't happen, then why are all students given a school supply list that has a lot of extra stuff on it, like paper and pencils? Thse supplies are left at school so all students share them. Also look around at the start of the next school year, and notice the school supply drives for needy students.)
We not only have to provide a redesigned school system to the students, but we also have to make sure that ALL students can take advantage of it. This is what is best for the students.
Do you see it happenning? No. Because we are doing what is convenient for us.
Many people will say that they went to school and they turned out ok, so their schild can go to the same school and they will turn out the same. We need to correct this fallacy by not only educating the students but also educate the adults in what is needed in this new digital world, and that not only their childs' future depends on us improving the school systems, theirs does as well.
"The entire design of a school must be rethought/redesigned/reimplemented in order to make true progress for our students.... We need to... educate the adults in what is needed in this new digital world, and that not only their childs' future depends on us improving the school systems, theirs does as well."
ReplyDeleteHi Anthony:
Do you have any examples of what you consider to be an educational "redesign" consistent with your perceptions of the needs of "this new digital world?"
Also, I noticed that you spoke at length about why Twitter can't be used in K12 classrooms. I was wondering if you could share the basis for your conclusions (e.g., personal experience with Twitter implementations, implementations of your colleagues, professional practice/research literature, etc.).
Thanks!
Kelvin
"Do you have any examples of what you consider to be an educational "redesign" consistent with your perceptions of the needs of "this new digital world?"
DeleteExamples of this redesign include
(1) the redesign of the classroom itself. It is laid out much the same as it was as early as the late 1800's Why? We want the students to be focused in on the education, not on what is going on outside or on their cell phones. The classroom could be laid out like a semi-circle, allowing the students to have a clear view of the board without having to look around the student in front of him.
(2) Integration of technology into School policies/activities. There is a lot of focus on the use of technology in the classroom for education, but what about to make things easier for the teacher? For Example, taking attendance can take up to 5 minutes of a teachers' time in the class. How about instead we attach bar codes to each of the class books, and a bar code reader by the door? The student can scan their book as they enter, and not only will they be counted as "present" they will be verified to have their class book with them for learning. If the school has gone to eReaders, all the better! The bar code can be put on the reader.
For Twitter, the only reasons that I see kids using Twitter in the real world is to keep track of things they are interested in personally. I've seen kids follow sports stars, movie stars, trivia, etc, but nothing educational. If it pertains to the classroom, why would we Tweet in the class, when we are all in the same room? Outside the class, students are not interested in getting messages about class. They figure that anything the teacher wants to tell them can be said in class, and if the teacher tweets something, they are just going to say they didn't get the tweet.
Now I know that it sounds very pessimistic of me to have this viewpoint, but I believe in using something in the classroom that will actually be used. I sdon't want to add something just because it is the "in" thing. If I can figure out how it can be used, or someone can at least tell me, then great!! But until then, it will be just a time waster for me and my students.
Anthony,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you saying that simply having technology at the school or in the classroom isn't necessarily enough. If a student is worried about what their next meal is, or where they will be sleeping that night, is having a laptop or knowing how to use one really that important to them? I definitely understand why it is important for students to understand technology, and I am not saying we shouldn't be incorporating it into our classrooms. I just think sometimes using computers our other types of technology are such distant concepts to my students, that I am not sure I can really expect them to care about how to use a laptop when they are worried about finding food. That doesn't mean I don't think I should do my best to incorporate as much technology into my classroom as I can.
Just to add to what you were saying about school supplies. I had a student ask me how he was supposed to do school work at home. I said you do it the same way you do it here. His response was, "How can I do it at home when I don't have paper or pencils there?" This was definitely a reality check for me.
-Kaitlyn Tolman
Anthony,
ReplyDeleteThere are few points I want to respond to that brought some ideas to mind as I was reading your post:
"While students do live in an age full of technology, we must introduce this technology in a planned way, one in which the learning process of the student is taken into account." One thing that I notice in a media center setting is that students definitely need guidelines and boundaries set for them in order to know how to proceed properly, just like they do in a traditional classroom setting. They also need to be taught proper "netiquette" when using technology. Planning content lessons strategically using proper technology skills goes hand-in-hand. I find it imperative, in my position, to collaborate with the classroom teachers in order to help their students combine both content and technology. For example, when a 5th grade class is assigned a research project, I make it my business to take the time to teach them how to properly make an outline on a Word document. Planning is essential.
It is true, but disheartening, that there are many families who cannot afford the tools that students need to keep up with today's technology. Even in my situation, in a private school setting, state funding is not available, so we have to find other ways to compensate for lack of funds. This is a problem in education as a whole.
Advancing technology in our school systems is a collaborative effort by many in the community. And this need will not be going away.
You raise some important points.
ReplyDeleteJust because a technology is novel and "cool," does not mean it will necessarily work in the classroom. I think there are school-approved sites that are similar to Twitter and other social networking sites. I'm not sure, though, so don't go by me. What I do know is, if you had a desire to utilize one of these sites in your teaching, I'm sure you could find a way. If you decided it wasn't beneficial for your students, then that's alright, too.
And now we come to the digital divide. Students living in poverty are not going to have the same access to resources as students in middle class and above. Schools serving lower-income students and lacking funding are going to have a more limited budget than private or public schools serving a more well-to-do population. We cannot assume all students have access to the Internet at home, or even to a computer. We need to take this into account.
"While students do live in an age full of technology, we must introduce this technology in a planned way, one in which the learning process of the student is taken into account."
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with you, Anthony. I keep seeing some of my colleagues just throwing in a technology task here and there just to please the students and get the re-engaged. It really stinks that these tasks are simple and do not require much inquiry or collaboration. I would love to see the curriculum change from the bottom up. How can we start integrating technology evenly and fairly at every school in every district, despite the neighborhood in which that school is located? I wish there were an easy answer tot his this problem. I think it would drastically change motivation and how our students learn.
Speaking of needy students, I saw a flyer in the first day of school packet last week that advertised high speed internet for students who had free or reduced lunch at 10 dollars a month through Comcast. Now isn't that great.... if only the students had access to a working and current personal computer at home. I guess it's the thought that counts.