21st Century Learning - Would love your opinions

[Cindy in C-ville]

We have our feet in so many educational spheres right now - homeschool, co-op, public school, private school, and comm. college. Yes, it's crazy. And there is no way we'll juggle all these balls next year. But this year we are. AND I'm working in the public school system running an afterschool program.

 

So, a couple of weeks ago we had a staff meeting and today we had a professional learning day where one of the topics was "21st century learning." The basic thrusts seem to be concern that we be able to compete with China and that our kids must be technologically astute so that they can move into competitive jobs - 30% which have not been invented yet.

 

Some of the stuff I am totally on board with - collaborative learning, teaching kids to be problem-solvers, etc. But there are other aspects that seem like a waste of time and some that just concern me.

 

In some ways it seems like the cuter your techno-tricks, the better a teacher you must be. For example, if I can put a spinner up on a smartboard for the kids to use, then I'm a better teacher than if I just pull a spinner out of the box and have the kids actually spin the spinner.

 

Another thing is the move away from textbooks. Okay, I get aspects of it. Like that it's better for the environment, textbooks get outdated so quickly, etc. But, aren't we losing something if kids are not actually sitting with books that they can thumb through? What happens when kids lose their laptops? Or break them? Or kids don't have internet at home?

 

So, as I'm sorting through this - reading, researching, etc., I'd love your thoughts. What do you think? Is a techno-savvy teacher a better teacher in today's world? Does technology really make better students? Do the technological resources available in public schools and some private schools make you question whether you as a homeschooling parent can give your child the skills they need to compete in the world of today (and tomorrow)?

 

How are you sorting through the technological advances in the world, your desire to give your child the best education you can, and our responsibility as parents to provide them with the tools they need for the future?

 

Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

[Photo Ninja]

 

So, a couple of weeks ago we had a staff meeting and today we had a professional learning day where one of the topics was "21st century learning." The basic thrusts seem to be concern that we be able to compete with China and that our kids must be technologically astute so that they can move into competitive jobs - 30% which have not been invented yet.

 

Some of the stuff I am totally on board with - collaborative learning, teaching kids to be problem-solvers, etc. But there are other aspects that seem like a waste of time and some that just concern me.

 

In some ways it seems like the cuter your techno-tricks, the better a teacher you must be. For example, if I can put a spinner up on a smartboard for the kids to use, then I'm a better teacher than if I just pull a spinner out of the box and have the kids actually spin the spinner.

 

Another thing is the move away from textbooks. Okay, I get aspects of it. Like that it's better for the environment, textbooks get outdated so quickly, etc. But, aren't we losing something if kids are not actually sitting with books that they can thumb through? What happens when kids lose their laptops? Or break them? Or kids don't have internet at home?

 

So, as I'm sorting through this - reading, researching, etc., I'd love your thoughts. What do you think? Is a techno-savvy teacher a better teacher in today's world? Does technology really make better students? Do the technological resources available in public schools and some private schools make you question whether you as a homeschooling parent can give your child the skills they need to compete in the world of today (and tomorrow)?

 

How are you sorting through the technological advances in the world, your desire to give your child the best education you can, and our responsibility as parents to provide them with the tools they need for the future?

 

 

We need to identify a difference between being educated and having technological skills. Many children can use a calculator (technological skill) ,but they can not do basic math (education). Students must be educated beyond being dependent on technology. Once they have academic skills they can easily and quickly learn the technology and move into competitive jobs.

 

A techno-savvy teacher is not necessarily a better teacher, unless the teacher is teaching technology. The best teacher will teach students math and help them master basic math, and them teach them to use a calculator. The best teacher will teach students to read and comprehend and analyze, then teach the technology (use Word to type essays, use the internet to research, teach how to determine a qualified source when researching, etc.).

 

No, technology does not make better students. One can use technology to demonstrate learning or to aid in research or communication, but technology is often used instead of learning. Technology can distract students from learning and can hamper their mastery of academic skills.

 

Do the technological resources available in public schools and some private schools make you question whether you as a homeschooling parent can give your child the skills they need to compete in the world of today (and tomorrow)?

 

No, not at all. My dc can use technology and be successful. They have not used a smartboards at home, but they are successful in college anyway. My dc have keyboarding skills and know how to use computers and the internet. They can use Word, Excel and PowerPoint, as well as other commonly and not so commonly used software. They pretty much learned it on their own. It's not complicated. If a hsed child has no access to a computer then I would be concerned because computer skills are needed in college and in many jobs. But if there is a computer at home, a child can learn the skills he will need. If he is being taught how to learn, he will be able to learn technological skills when they are needed.

 

But, aren't we losing something if kids are not actually sitting with books that they can thumb through?

 

YES! We are losing something. Now I am not much of a fan of textbooks, especially outdated textbooks. Updated information is helpful. But how much information our dc learn needs to be updated yearly? Math seldom changes. Science changes, but not all science topics change yearly. History doesn't change. Perceptions and interpretations change, but the actual facts seldom change unless new sources are discovered. I prefer my dc read real books on topics instead of a textbook.

 

However, I think we do lose something when using ebooks instead of a physical paper book. For example, consider the Encyclopedia. It is wonderful that Encyclopedias are more available for everyone when they are electronic. They are cheaper and don't take up as much space as a physical set, and can easily be updated or replaced yearly. Every class in a school can have an electronic Encyclopedia on the class computer, and children at home can have it available as well. This is not always possible with a physical set. A physical set of Encyclopedias is seldom replaced because of cost. But it is important to look at the whole picture.

 

Consider the difference in how they are used. My dc will use an electronic Encyclopedia on the computer. They type in their subject and are immediately taken to the article. Quick, easy, and fast. But- prior to the electronic Encyclopedia, my dc had to find the correct volume, then find the article. During that process they often spent a hour reading some other article they happened to stumble upon while searching for their goal subject. Which student learned more - the one with the electronic version or the physical version? Browsing the physical Encyclopedia allows exposure to more articles that can catch a student's interest. That is eliminated when using an electronic Encyclopedia. This can extend to other electronic books as well.

 

Our dc need to succeed as adults, whether they are in an occupation that exists today or a job using yet-to-be-invented technology. That requires a well-rounded education where they master math skills, reading and comprehension and analysis skills, writing and communication skills, and know how to learn. None of these are dependent on using technology.

 

I doubt that those in charge of the Chinese education system are focused on using and teaching technology as much as they are teaching academic skills. How many Chinese students really have laptops and ebooks and smartboards to provide their academic instruction? How many schools in China provide these to each student?

 

If our focus is on technology in education then we will have technology-savvy high school graduates who are not necessarily academically skilled. Remove their technology and they will be lost. Instead, focus on academics, add in technology, and the same student will be able to compete with people in other countries.

[Rosie_0801]

Bummer, I wish I could remember the exact titles we were reading a few months back. It was along the lines of "Video Game Nation" and "Honey, We Lost the Kids." One of the authors made what I thought was a very important point about technological literacy. Owning and being plugged into a collection of electronic gadgets is not what makes a person technologically literate. It isn't multitasking if you're not doing any of the things well enough. He (I can't remember, but I think it was a he!) said kids generally, for all their comfort with technology couldn't do an advanced search using Google and had no idea how to evaluate information when they did find it.

 

I am not in the least bit concerned about not having a smart board in my house. Dh is a computer guy so he will be up to date with all the new gizmos I can't be bothered to know about, but he doesn't buy them just because they exist. He only buys them if they will be useful tools in his life. I think that is a very responsible attitude to technology. They are TOOLS for life. They are not LIFE. He also feels it is very important to learn the meta-skills; theory rather than getting overly focused on specific programs. "This is how spreadsheets work" is more important and transferable than "this is how you get this program to add."

 

Dh was a teacher and also gave mini-workshops on different whizz bang gizmos, since he was the only computery bloke in an office of middle aged women :) He's all for technology in the classroom when it is used as a tool, not as a replacement for teaching. The example you gave, OP, about the spinner really annoys him. A few experienced teachers who got consistently good results with their students were getting hauled over the coals for not using enough technology in their classrooms. That really gave him the pip.

 

Rosie

[Cindy in C-ville]

Oh gals, you are making me so happy! I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks this way! In that staff meeting the other day you would have thought my hair turned green and I sprouted purple horns. My boss shared the likelihood that ALL students in the public school system would have laptops in a couple of years and that the public school system would pay to have internet in every home. I asked, "What if a parent doesn't want internet in their home?" She said that it had never crossed their minds that parents might not want internet. And, she passed me a book about 21st century learning. I couldn't even begin to rationally discuss my concern about the government controlling families through the public school system. Even if we don't go to Malaysia next year, I doubt we'll still have our kids in public school.

 

Other thoughts?

[Sara R]

21st Century Skills has been discussed a lot on Kitchen Table Math. Here is one post that is a good example.

 

My new job puts me in the college classroom. About half of the classes I'm in this semester have no laptops allowed in the classroom, because of too many students checking Facebook instead of listening to the professor. Many of the "Developmental Math" classes and regular math classes don't allow calculators.

 

One of my major concerns about "21st century skills" is the huge costs of the technology involved. Where is all of this money coming from to pay for this? States are slashing budgets all over the place, and probably will be for quite some time. And with all of that extra money being spent, is there proof that the children learn any better?

Edited February 23, 2011 by Sara R

[Melinda in VT]

One of my major concerns about "21st century skills" is the huge costs of the technology involved. Where is all of this money coming from to pay for this? States are slashing budgets all over the place, and probably will be for quite some time. And with all of that extra money being spent, is there proof that the children learn any better?

 

In my kids' schools, the smartboard technology seems to come from awards (teacher of the year, etc.) and grants specifically earmarked for technology, though I think the computer lab is at least partially funded from tax revenue.

[Cindy in C-ville]

21st Century Skills has been discussed a lot on Kitchen Table Math.

 

My new job puts me in the college classroom. About half of the classes I'm in this semester have no laptops allowed in the classroom, because of too many students checking Facebook instead of listening to the professor. Many of the "Developmental Math" classes and regular math classes don't allow calculators.

 

One of my major concerns about "21st century skills" is the huge costs of the technology involved. Where is all of this money coming from to pay for this? States are slashing budgets all over the place, and probably will be for quite some time. And with all of that extra money being spent, is there proof that the children learn any better?

 

Very interesting. In our district they are preparing to put laptops in the hands of every student in the public school system. When the questions have been asked, "What happens when the kids don't take care of them? Lose them? They get stolen? Etc." The answer is that we'll just teach the kids to take care of them. Now, as the mother of two middle school-aged boys, I wonder how successful this will be.

 

I haven't seen any proof that the kids learn better. I do think that teachers - whether homeschool moms or in the classroom teachers - should utilize a variety of teaching methods in order to address learning styles. But, I don't think this has to mean a bunch of technological tricks, bells, and whistles. I come back to my belief that the best thing we can do for kids, as far as an education goes, is to inspire a love for learning and teach them how to think.

 

Other thoughts? Anyone have any studies that prove that kids learn better with all the technology?

[kchara]

OK, at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot... what's a smartboard? And why in the world would you use one to make a spinner, instead of just having a spinner? I'm assuming it's to appear technologically superior to the teacher down the hall who *doesn't* use a smartboard for a spinner? :confused:

 

I understand that our children have to be more competent with technology than I was when I was in school. It's just the way of the world. I don't see how leaving paper books behind and forcing every child to use computers will accomplish that. I think we're losing a very, VERY important part of our culture and our educational systems when we do that. Case in point: I was recently asking for advice on another board about my daughter not remembering her math facts. It's something we've been working on for YEARS. One person (and a homeschooler, no less) told me that that was why calculators were invented. My girl's 9, she's not learning calculus. I'm talking basic addition here. ((sigh)) It makes me sad that that's the place we've come to in education, taking the easy road, and then pretending it's technological advances, instead of actually learning the tried and true way.

 

Which, I guess, is probably a big part of the reason I'm so drawn to classical education. ;-)

[Heather in Neverland]

My school is going to a 1 to 1 laptop program for grades 9-12 in a year from now and we will be moving away from traditional textbooks. It is the direction international schools are headed. And the high school principal is heading up the switch over. Just thought you might want to know before the interview. ;)

[Aubrey]

I taught in a district in which every child had a laptop. A lot of teachers hated it, thought they were distractions, etc. But really...anything you give a kid has the *potential* to be a distraction.

 

I think the point of stuff like what you're talking about is integrating the technology, so that it becomes a natural resource. Too many teachers treat computers & the internet like something separate...in part, possibly because kids *don't* have enough access to computers. You have to schedule a day at the computer lab. Honestly, that just doesn't cut it in today's world.

 

When you have to schedule a day at the computer lab, there are inevitably some computers that don't work. You spend 10 min getting everybody situated & then another 10 min trying to move one kid to another computer because there's something wrong w/ the one he's at. Ime, somebody *always* ends up having to "share." When I was growing up, "sharing" a computer meant sitting there watching while someone else did all the work--or didn't, because they were goofing off.

 

Schools absolutely get carried away w/ this sort of stuff & reward thigns that seem to miss the point. They do that w/ everything, though--it's their nature. As far as rewarding silly things like making a spinner on the smart board, I think of it like this: many educators are more cut off from technology than their students are. By making technology for its own sake a goal, it encourages teachers to get familiar w/ it & what it can do so that there will be less fear, etc.

 

Back to the spinner--someone asked why. If you've got a spinner sitting right there, the only reason I can think of is that everybody can see the one on the smartboard better. Beyond that, though, how many times have you gotten somewhere to teach, thought you'd brought something, & now you can't find it? Part of the point of technology is simply to give students & teachers another resource. Can't find your timer? Instead of wasting class time looking for it, just use the one on the computer. Same w/ a calculator, or, Hey! A spinner!

[Cindy in C-ville]

OK, at the risk of sounding like a complete idiot... what's a smartboard? And why in the world would you use one to make a spinner, instead of just having a spinner? I'm assuming it's to appear technologically superior to the teacher down the hall who *doesn't* use a smartboard for a spinner? :confused:

 

 

Smartboards are like whiteboards, but tied to a computer. In a workshop on using Smartboards the other day, the Smartboard didn't work. The presenter spent half the time trying to get it to do what she wanted it to do.

[kchara]

Smartboards are like whiteboards, but tied to a computer. In a workshop on using Smartboards the other day, the Smartboard didn't work. The presenter spent half the time trying to get it to do what she wanted it to do.

 

:lol: OK, that's just plain funny... LOL You can't teach irony like that on a computer!

[Cindy in C-ville]

My school is going to a 1 to 1 laptop program for grades 9-12 in a year from now and we will be moving away from traditional textbooks. It is the direction international schools are headed. And the high school principal is heading up the switch over. Just thought you might want to know before the interview. ;)

 

This doesn't bother me as long as there is a clear vision for moving in this direction. In our district it seems that all the push for technology is driven by a goal to keep up with China, prepare kids for jobs that don't yet exist. and teach them how to take standardized tests so that federal money keeps coming in and our district is seen as "cutting edge." Except for the principal at my school, I'm not hearing administrators talk about how to instill a love for learning, teach the kids how to think, etc.

[Cindy in C-ville]

 

Kids need a strong foundation of knowledge in order to make the best use of those skills. Fuddy duddy me thinks that passionate teachers and great books are the best route to that knowledge.

 

SO agree.

[Nan in Mass]

I think of my father. He is an engineer. He didn't have laptops in school, but now, at 80, he has a small business buying broken ones, fixing them and putting on customized software packages, and selling them for a specific purpose. He was taught how to learn and how to think, and as an engineer, he was required to keep honing those skills his entire life, so he just sort of never stopped, even when he retired. I want my children to be like that. I think spending an afternoon a week with Grampa is probably a better investment, school-wise, than any amount of technology, although one, naturally, involves the other to some extent. I think the trick is that those afternoons also involve learning to think and learning basic hands-on skills. I think project-based learning has lots of merit, but it has to be combined with learning academic skills. I think the academic skills should be taught and then they should be practised with the projects. It is the combination that works so well, not one without the other. For example, I think this is why some schools have been able to improve significantly, against all odds, by teaching all the teachers how to teach writing and then forcing their students to write for every class. Writing is a form of project. I am partial to hands-on projects, but I think anything that involves finding information, organizing it, doing something useful with it, and then explaining what you did to someone else counts as a project. Another example, a more hands-on one, is my son and electronics. My son is probably headed for engineering, and most engineers I know messed about with hacking into their electronic devices as high schoolers. I wanted that for my son, but I had zero luck bringing it about until I thought about how my father had learned - a book about electronics and kits. I had supplied my son with the basic skills part (a learn-electronics kit that had a book and some hands-on stuff). I had supplied an older boy role model. But I hadn't supplied the interesting projects. When I bought some cool small kits and told my son he was going to build them for school, suddenly the rest of the pieces all came together and he began to do what I wanted him to. He needed to apply the basic skills he had learned in an interesting and appealing way before he could go off and use the skills for his own purposes. (Of course, now that he most of the way through building his own extra-powerful laser pointer to use as a soldering iron, I am wondering if that was such a good idea, but that is another problem altogether.)

 

So - my point is that I don't think you can just strew technology around and have it work. I think that was the problem with the school of the future. I don't think the technology can replace the basic skills. Yes, a calculator can do your math facts for you, but if you don't understand those facts (whether you remember them or not), you won't get far in math. Power Point makes giving a speech easier and faster, but you still need to know how to organize your material in a way that makes it clear to your audience. Of the two, learning to use the technology and learning the basic skill, learning to use the technology is generally much easier and faster than learning the basic skill. It doesn't take that long to learn to use Power Point. It takes much longer to learn to outline. I don't think there is anything wrong with using the technology to make it easier to apply the skills to a project, but I think you are fooling yourself if you think giving a classroom of students laptops with Power Point will teach them the organizational principles behind outlining. I think if you took two students and taught one Power Point and the other outlining and then asked them both to give you a good Power Point presentation, the one that knew how to outline but not how to run Power Point would be able to figure out how to give a good Power Point presentation faster than the one who knew how to run Power Point but had to figure out how to write a good outline. Ideally, I think you teach both and you could certainly use Power Point to teach outlining, but I don't think you can substitute one for the other any more than you can teach calculator use without explaining what addition is, and I think that if you have to choose one of the two, you are better off teaching just outlining with paper and pencil and book than teaching just Power Point.

That probably went in circles so much that I'm not sure it says what I wanted it to say. Sorry. I'm not thinking very clearly today. It's vvaaccaattiioonn!

-Nan

[SailorMom]

"21st Century Learning" is a bunch of bunk.

Most of those kids in Asia have some paper and a teacher.... that teaches.

Everything else is a gimmick, a magic bullet.

Give a kid a good education where he can actually think - he'll figure out the technology in a few minutes on his own.

 

People in the 17-1800's were far more educated, eloquent, and creative (look at all the inventions coming out of the US back then) and had very little rsources for education beyond a grammar book and someone who knew math.

 

The educational system needs to cut out this craziness and get down to real teaching.

[Nan in Mass]

Yes, technology seems to have a way of outsmarting the user. Or outliteralling the user is probably more accurate.

We opted to give ours laptops and unrestricted internet use for high school. It is a gamble, in my opinion, because it is a big distraction and they naturally learn some things you would rather they weren't exposed to quite yet. LOL They learn some things they wish they hadn't been exposed to quite yet, too. We are hoping that the conventional extended family wisdom - give things early while the child is still under your supervision - applies to laptops as well as pocket knives. We'll see. I can see how learning to exist without the ubiquitous technology could also give a person an edge. We're trying to have our cake and eat it, too, in this department. Not that that has anything to do with the decisions of school systems.

 

When it comes to the orginal question of how one prepares a child for the 21st century, I think that the person with the edge will have lots of creativity, the ability to learn new things and adapt and change, the abliltiy to think out of the box, and skills, lots of skills - communication skills, hands-on skills, skill with technology, ... . And I think that people who help others in a personal way (nurses, etc.) and people who create things (artists, inventors, entrepreneurs, etc.) will be valued more and more, and some of the people who are now so valued (as in well-paid) will be valued less. I think technology will be the thing that drives this change. We are trying to make our children those things. It is very difficult and risky. We keep thinking that if they don't die, we might succeed. I also, of course, think we need to move towards sustainability/non-environmentally-damaging technology, and I think that if we can't manage to achieve world peace or something close to it, all will be for nought, because the very things that will allow one creative individual to succeed in having an impact on the world or find people who are willing to pay for his creations also will allow one individual to have a great amount of negative impact on the world.

 

We live in interesting times, near the vertical in the exponential curve of change.

 

-Nan

[Cindy in C-ville]

So, I spent a few minutes reading a BOOK of all things on 21st century learning this morning. Surprise, surprise ... several of the big ideas of the book were to integrate curriculum, particularly history and literature, think outside the box of the traditional brick-and-mortar schoolhouse, Sept-June calendar, and 8:00-3:00 day, and not teach social studies from an America-centric viewpoint. I thought, "Hmmm...that sounds a lot like what we WTM ladies do with homeschooling!" :)

 

Other thoughts?

[GoVanGogh]

I have been pondering tech in the schools quite a bit lately. My neighbor is a middle school history teacher, trying to get the school to change him to a "tech" teacher. He talks a lot about how children need, need, need to be kept up with the latest and greatest. So I have been wondering -- is all the push for technology in the schools going to push schools totally out of business? On-line courses for college students have really boomed in the past decade. There are already on-line courses for homeschool students, not to mention programs like accredited "school-at-home," K12 and virtual schools. In another ten years, will the norm be that all (or most) public school students will learn at home through on-line courses?

[LostSurprise]

I think 21st Century Learning delves into something a bit deeper then whether our kids our tech-ready. At it's heart it digs into the American fear of being passed by, and of finding an easy, gimmicky solution.

 

There is no easy solution, and any responsible text or site on Collaborative Learning, Educational Technology, and Project-based Learning doesn't see technology as a silver bullet.

 

It's simply something that is changing right now, that can be leveraged to bring students together in new ways. The reason it's being buzzed in teacher circles is because many teachers are not even at the technical level of their students. They need a lot of encouragement to pick up the new technology and look for what works.

 

BTW, many of these technical breakthroughs can be done by anyone with an Internet account. Do some research into collaborative learning, there is a lot of cool stuff out there. I'm surprised Homeschool Coops haven't tapped into some of this stuff because kids can really work collaboratively from their own homes; writing stories together, editing movies, writing blogs, all kinds of stuff.

[missmoe]

My dd attends a public technology high school that is rated in the top 20 in the state of CA and in the top 3% in the nation. One of the goals of the school is to have 100% of the students ready to attend college when they graduate. And 87% of the students meet that goal.

 

What do they teach at this school? Technology of course. Education in the Digital Age is a required course for all incoming students. Beyond that--they teach logic and rhetoric, a strong base in math and science, integrated history and lit, community service, and foreign languages.

 

Each year students work on a big project that is integrated with their most of their classes. It is expected that students will utilize technology to present the project, but good old fashion thinking, research, and writing are required to earn a good grade for the project.

 

It is expected that students will have internet at home, and most teachers have their own websites with assignments and even lessons posted. The school does realize that internet in the home is not always possible--so a media center at the school is available to students for an hour before school and one to two hours after school. Students do not have their own laptops! The school struggles to keep all of their computers they have on site current. Parents volunteerly pay a technology fee and raise about 10,000 dollars each year to pay for software and other technology.

 

Textbooks are in the classroom, but the school does not issue textbooks for students to take home. They have found it more cost effective to have the students use the same texts on line. To be honest-other than math-most teachers do not use the textbooks all that much, so not having a physical copy has not been a big issue.

 

So of course technology is important in education, but it can not replace actual learning and thinking skills. Technology changes quickly--teaching a student how to use technology of today won't help them in the workplace of tomorrow, if they haven't actually learned to think.

 

Several more of my kids will most likely attend the same high school--how am I preparing them for this school and for college? By teaching them how to write, how to think mathmatically, how to think logacally, how to solve problems, how the history of the world relates to today, ect.

[Heather in Neverland]

We must be careful not to set up a false dilemma here of either "good teaching by a human" OR "technology in the classroom". Technology is here to stay and it is AWESOME... look at what we as homeschool parents are able to do with it... we collaborate and learn from one another, share ideas, research a topic of interest, get instant answers to questions, multi-task, etc. Our kids are doing the same thing.

 

Just "putting a laptop in a kid's hands" is not effective use of technology (although I daresay that even without a teacher who is tech savvy, a kid will immediately find a way to use that laptop to their advantage).

 

Why technology in the classroom? Because it is fun and EFFICIENT and there are so many things you can do with it. Why NOT have a spinner on a smartboard? If you already have the smartboard in your room and you are doing a lesson you can in a split second bring up a spinner for a game or a timer or videoclip linked to your lesson or do any one of thousands of cool things to add depth to your lesson.

 

Now does that automatically mean kids will be smarter? Of course not. That's ridiculous. But it is a tool and a good one so why not use it?

 

Textbooks? You can get your textbook on a laptop and get updates to them as soon as they come out. Does this mean no books? Another false dilemma. Of course we have books. We have two libraries on campus full of them. It is not an either-or.

 

Competing with China? You bet your sweet bippy we are competing with China and Singapore and Korea and India, etc. and to act like we don't need to is very naive, indeed.

 

I have said this before and I will say it again: at a conference on 21st century learning the speaker asked the audience (full of middle-aged teachers), "How many of you have ever played a board game with a child and LET them win?" Just about everyone snickered and raised their hand. Then he asked, "How many of you have ever played a videogame with a child and had to let them win?" No one raised their hand.

 

Times are changing and a "good" teacher can use technology as a TOOL to be an even better teacher.

[Nan in Mass]

I would HATE (yes I am yelling) to have to teach my boys writing without word processors. My sons are much more willing to look up the meaning of words because they can do it so quickly and easily on their laptops, which tend to be up and sitting next to them when they are working. My youngest discovered that there are forums full of electrical engineers who are happy to explain why a widget he is making won't work and suggest ways to fix it, that he can find a chess partner at any time of the day or night, and that he can instantly find out how much voltage a diode requires by typing the part number into any search engine or how long a squirrel's pregnancy lasts, or why it tends to rain on the weekends. We appreciate the efficiency here. : )

-Nan

[Caroline]

I love my SMARTboard. I don't have to buy dry erase markers for it. I can give a multiple choice test without paper using the clickers. I can show things from Geometer's sketchpad, Maple and Mathematica using it. I can show a video clip of two earthquakes and show how a logarithmic scale works. I can save all my notes and examples for kids who aren't present or cannot take notes.

 

If my students had laptops, we would do a lot more writing in math. My students could have access to the three programs mentioned above. It is much more powerful to see a rotated solid in animation than in my drawings. Oh, and the washers and shells, and how to tell which method will produce a better integral to solve. I could do a whole blackboard learning session with my homebound student.

 

Necessary? No. Helpful? Absolutely. SMARTboards in our school were paid for by a generous local business.

[Cindy in C-ville]

Times are changing and a "good" teacher can use technology as a TOOL to be an even better teacher.

 

Totally agree.

[Cindy in C-ville]

Love it, love it! You guys are AWESOME! I cannot TELL you how thankful I am for balanced input. I met with the Admissions Coordinator at a local private school last week to get her feedback on the job description for the parallel position at Heather's school for which I've applied. One of my questions for her related to professional development. Her advice was to stay current or ahead on technology. I'm excited to see GOOD teachers use technology (or any other hands-on application) as a tool for teaching and interested to see how this plays out in my professional pursuits and my children's education. Other thoughts?

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

I think technology is awesome. Our homeschool recently went more high-tech. When I say that I want my sons to be globally competitive in math and science, I am aware that I must include technology.

 

What I won't do is replace rigorous education with flashy gimmicks. I am very concerned about this in public schools. Have you ever gone to youtube or websites for school-bound technological innovations and watched the video presentations?

 

These videos and examples are often rife with spelling and grammatical errors. I've noticed this in videos advertising STEM programs, too. I'm not impressed that a child has access to a Smartboard and a computer if his teacher can not spell the words she is putting on the board for him to read.

 

Charlotte Mason was and always will be correct on this: Educate the whole child.

 

Don't abandon grammar for computers. Don't forsake mental arithmetic for calculators. Don't swap WiiFit for hours in the woods. Don't follow the current educational trends of only putting out fires, for example, abandoning History and Science to focus on Math and English only, and then abandoning English to focus on Science. Craziness!

 

Use technology to enhance real education and real communication. If I can't do it with a pen and paper and my own brain, I have no business faking it with a Smartboard.

 

If I can do it with a pen and paper and my own brain, but I can do it quicker and snazzier on a Smartboard, so that I can transfer knowledge to the mind of a child in a more appealing way, then give me a Smartboard.

 

Here is how my 14yo son uses technology at home:

 

1. Touch typing

2. Word and Excel proficiency

3. Power Point (so far he has used this for aerospace education presentations for Civil Air Patrol)

4. Email, doc sharing, Skype

5. Blogging

6. Art programs like GIMP, Blender, Sketchup

7. Video creation programs

8. Music recording and mixing (has recorded music for a local folk radio show and sent it to the producer)

9. School on CD-Rom (using TOG DE, I send him his assignments through shared docs or email, he writes his papers and sends them back to me. He also watches DVD teachers on computer and can email them with questions)

10. Setting up life so that he has plenty of real-life reasons to use email, twitter, texting, etc. with adults in the community.

 

All that is remaining: I really, really, really want an iPad. According to my research, I can do almost anything on an iPad that a ps teacher can do on a Smartboard (which I can not afford).

 

In the meantime, my son is going to build me an interactive whiteboard using a Wii remote, a bluetooth, and a projector.

[Rosie_0801]

Tech is a tool. Use it if it is valuable to the job at hand. Sometimes a stick in a sandbox is just as effective in getting a point across as a powerpoint or multimedia presentation. Choose wisely.

 

:cheers2:

 

I think technology in the classroom only becomes a problem when regulations mandate it and teachers are obliged to spend time fixing something that wasn't "broke" to comply. What's funny, is while the other language teachers in dh's office were getting into strife for not using enough technology in their classrooms, the powers that be were refusing extra technology funding for dh. :rollseyes:

 

Rosie