School administrators have long advocated the inclusion of technology in the classroom. It started by giving students calculators; then they had computers; now they have Internet access in the classrooms. Indeed they have access to more resources, but does it make them smarter?
With calculators, students lost touch with the validity of their answers because they were spoon-fed equations and a pile of numbers. With computers that didn’t have Internet access (i.e. that accessed Encyclopedia Britannica on CD), students just regurgitated the information from those programs into their reports. Now with Internet access, students search for their topic of research and re-spew the Google results.
For those who are paying attention, you are going to recall that students executed the same regurgitation using card catalogs in the library. And you are correct. So with today’s schools and their shrinking budgets, is there a real benefit to adding expensive technology that won’t improve the fundamental problem of students needing to be smarter?
In my opinion, technology in the classroom doesn’t make students smarter – it only makes their intelligence (or lack thereof) revealed quicker. What do you think?
Re the last sentence
You are correct sir!
It just give the kiddies more time to play games!
Your oversimplification of how computers are used for research undermines the purpose for any form of research, whether it be online or by reading microfiche. It is how you use it and what you expect of students that matters. If schools are to prepare students for this century and teach them the skills for life, they need to know how to use technology. They need to learn it as it is used in everyday life, not as a separate course.
couldn’t agree more – how about more hands on projects for the kids, they have to learn to find answers the “old fashion way” – keeps them busy and not relying on computers – though technology is cool – I believe its up to parents at home to make better choices for out children and to encourage the”old fashion way” of learning to create smart kids, I don’t think classrooms are going to back down for the tech hype – take control at home.
Calculators are where I was first introduced to programing. Instead of seeing the quadratic equation, I saw a challenge to write lines of code. Many teachers did not share the same enthusiasm that I did towards it. But you can’t deny, when a 14 year old can create a program to solve their homework that is spurring imagination and learning. So much that it influenced me to go to college for IT work, and continue on with studying different programming languages.
Seems to me you’re looking at all the negatives and none of the positives.