Another week has gone by and I still don't have any answers to the questions that keep floating around in my head. After watching Draper's video "Pay Attention" and completing the other readings I can't help but agree with the philosophy that we must incorporate some of today's more popular "toys" in order to engage our students and create a more positive environment for learning.
However, I must also state that I would have problems as a teacher and an administrator to mandate that every student in my school would require an ipod or a cell phone to participate in class. In every school there are children which contend with the daily burden of poverty and it would be unfair to intentionally exclude these students from the learning experiences simply because they can not afford these new toys.
In a way this has always been a significant issue in education, and it will be an issue that I continue to grapple with throughout my career. I understand that the purpose of technology is to enrich the student experience - yet, how do we do this without increasing the gap between the advantaged student and the disadvantaged student? It is similar to the question many teachers face on a daily basis. How do you engage and challenge the brightest students in your class and still ensure that the experience is relevant and meaningful to the students that find school challenging? In the new reality of standardized testing to determine achievement scores and educational funding, do you spend more time on enriching the student experience or do you spend more time covering the fundamentals in the most time effective way possible so that you or your school does not suffer once the results are published? In a world where education has taken a back seat to health care and highways, where are the resources going to come from to give teachers the necessary knowledge, training and time that they will require to incorporate these skills into their lessons?
My ramblings are over for now. I will be back.
Mathman33
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3 comments:
Walter, I just finished watching the same video and I had pretty much the same thought as you had. I jotted down the number of Ipods (90 000 000) out there. While that number seems huge, I work with children who do not have access to Ipods or computers.
The time has come for school systems to truly consider equity. Many of our students have access to current technology. My own family is an average income family and my children have always had access to at least one computer and currently have access to three laptops as well as a desktop. Perhaps it is time to pole our families and provide the tools to those that need it. As it stands now our school system buys the same textbook, workbook for every student in every school. From what I can see in my class, kids are bored with textbook learning (even our wonderful new latest). What if we were to encourage the the use of technology by having students bring their tools (laptops, ipods) to school and then providing it to those that do not have access?
You also questioned the idea of giving teachers the necessary knowledge, training and time that they will require to incorporate these skills into their lessons. I believe you are dead on with this question. Teachers in my school teach four core subjects where curriculum is changing and new resources are constantly being suggested. In addition they teach up to four non core subjects and often deal with a number of behavioral/social issues. Often professional development is put on the back burner to attend to these every day tasks. In my mind Draper sums it up in his blog by saying "if we truly want to change the way our students are taught, then there is no discussion more important than one centered on how we teach our teachers."
Walter,
I agree that we cannot "hamstring" students who cannot afford certain luxuries. I also have the opinion that we should not expect every student to take a DE class online. In my experience with DE, some students prefer the paper or traditional correspondence method, while others like online delivery. Not every student is suited for DE and I would have difficulty implementing a mandatory initiative.
I think that the point was not to mandate ipods or cell phones for students, but to allow different forms of expression other than what we presently use in our classrooms.
However your point is noted. I teach in a LOW socioeconomic neighborhood in a K-7 community school. On average 5 percent of our students have computers from each classroom. However, in my grade 7 teaching days, we were able to use the lab 5 periods a week (sometimes even more) and were able to explore the CAL and E-Learning offerings.
However, the extent that Darren's expectations for "connectivity" would be a real challenge for my students as the enter high school.
I am going to restate that last comment. It would be a nearly impossible disadvantage. Students in our neighborhood not only don't have the tools, they dont have the time (jobs, babysitting, life..)
If these tools engage our students, do we need to ask what economic level of students are we engaging?
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