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Technology in the classroom: Good or Bad? |
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What do you think? Click here if your Agree
Click here if you Disagree
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Dave Townsend |
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25 March 2008 |
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With
all of the recent reports of students using technology to cheat and the
banning of iPods and electronic devices from classrooms, I think we
need to stop and rethink the situation and start looking for ways to
use technology as a learning tool in the classroom.
Breaking traditions
In the traditional way of learning, students prepare for an exam and
then take a test by trying to recall all the answers purely from
memory. However, in the real world, day to day, that is not how we as
working adults solve problems. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, we use
all the technologies we can to accomplish a given task as quickly and
effectively as possible. When was the last time you completed a project
solely on memory? With help just a Google away, what may be needed in
the classroom is instructors teaching students how to properly gather
relevant information by using effective web searching techniques.
Learning how to sift through the over abundance of data on the web,
then storing it in an organized way for easy access on portable storage
devices to be used in class is much more in line with what is done in
the real world than just memorizing answers (Elgan, 2007).
Leading the way
Taking the initiative in bringing technology into the classroom, Duke
University instituted a program that gives all of its incoming freshmen
an iPod loaded with class materials and audio books needed for the
semester. The students use the device as a portable learning tool to
listen to class lectures and to use in class as a portable study tool.
Listing to audio for foreign language classes was reported as being
very popular. Students can listen and re-listen to readings spoken the
in language they are studying to pick up the correct pronunciation of
words (Dean, 2007). Also breaking new ground is Wells Elementary School
in Maine. Students there, guided by the vision of their teacher Bob
Sprankle, are creating weekly podcasts where they discuss what they
have learned for the week. The podcasts have become very popular with
parents and educators to the point where the students are now getting
requests sent in on topics for upcoming episodes (Apple Inc, 2008).
These are just two examples that do not but need to reflect the
majority of schools in the US.
Conclusion
We’re living in an age where technology and electronic devices are all
around us and here to stay. Rather than discourage their use in
classrooms, it might make sense to not only encourage it, but also
instruct students how to leverage these modern tools. There will always
be a certain percentage of students that feel the need to shortcut the
system by cheating, there’s no question about that. The real question
that we need to answer is by removing technology from the classroom are
we taking a shortcut in an attempt to solve a problem or creating a
bigger problem that will launch a generation of unprepared students
into the workplace?
Resources
Apple Inc. (2008). K-12 Education. http://www.apple.com
Dean, K. (2004). Duke Gives iPods to Freshmen. Wired. http://www.wired.com
Elgan, M. (May 2007). Are iPod-banning schools cheating our kids? Computerworld. http://www.computerworld.com
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