Rethinking Education Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Rethinking

1.       read Ch. 3 of Rethinking Education (p. 30-48); post a reflection to your reflective learning blog:

o    How does this reading impact your thinking about technology's role in teaching and learning?

o    What will you do differently as a future teacher as a direct result of this new thinking?

Skeptics argue that computers will reduce the variety of classroom teaching and learning. They also argue that the commercial media will have too much influence on the classroom learning.

Schools are “remarkably resistant institutions”, they have resisted changes in technology for a very long time.  Changes during the 1800’s from using slate to paper would not be my first thought when I think about changes in technology but, during that time, they were.

The present school system is largely based on a long history of educational methods, especially the past 100 years. It works as a complex equilibrium like a jig saw puzzle. When a new piece is added, it threatens the position and functions of the rest of the system. Many parents, teachers, students and administrators view technology as that piece.

Many schools have responded to the potential risks of technological innovation rather than acting upon its potential opportunities. Appropriate use policies can actually ban uses of new technology that threatens the existing practices.

The introduction of high stakes testing to the classroom has pushed teachers to focus more on specific content and conventional skills. This has caused teachers to feel as if they have less time and effort to devote to developing innovations in the classroom. Some teachers are reliant on using established technologies

 Skeptics are technically correct to argue that the increased use of computers has caused lower exam scores, but there are more factors to consider. As computer typing has become more popular, written test scores have fallen and computer test scores have improved. Typing is very different from hand writing. If I choose to use technology and introduce advanced technology in my classroom, I may want to consider using more computer based evaluations too. When students have low scores I need to figure out if they were caused by a lack in my instruction, a lack in the individual student’s effort, an outside factor, or if there is a problem with my testing methods. 

Skeptics argue that computer use will complicate classroom management. They feel that when students are split into groups to share a computer it is more difficult to control the class. I agree with this for the most part, but there are other options. How about 1:1 initiatives? They feel there is too much room for breakage and vandalism. Recently, I have been observing in a 9^th grade classroom which has a 1:1 laptop initiative. I need to find out more information about how much repair has had to be done to the computers, but I have not observed any problems yet. In addition, the classroom management has been handled very well. Each student having a computer is just like each student having a pencil, it is only another tool that helps the student.  1:1 initiatives are not widely common yet, but I hope that I am able to get a job in a district which has one.