I think that our relationship with technology is a long story
full of mixed feelings. At every stage of history, we can find stories of people
who are excited about the newest inventions and those who say that they will
only cause us problems. The car would be a perfect example of this. Yet, we
have come so far since the first Ford rolled of the assembly line that today we
can clearly see all of the amazing benefits that technology can bring.
As such, when it comes to computers, machines that can make
millions of calculations per second, how could they not improve every aspect of
our lives, including education! As such, we have invested lots of energy and time
into replacing the current technology in the classroom with something newer and
“better.”
What have we found? The news is mixed! Some uses of
technology has clearly been shown, in studies, to improve student retention,
student interaction, student collaboration, and student engagement. On the
other hand, many studies have shown that the technology simply served as a
replacement for the previous technology with little to no benefit and in some
cases, a detriment.
My stance on technology integration is mixed. I love
technology and its possibilities, I love to use it, and I love to try and
figure out what I can do with it. Yet I also feel that there are many cases
where the new technology has caused more problems than it has fixed. Distracted
students, loss of access to files, loss of files all together, and a lack of
connection to the material are all examples of the negatives of technology in
the classroom. Not to mention increased costs and the lack of durability! All
of my students have iPads and a good number of them have cracked screens and
the number is growing daily!
When it comes to the benefits of technology, we need to look
at more than just student achievement. Since student achievement can be
affected by so many things, and some changes that ultimately show an
improvement, can initially show a decline in retention or seem to take longer
to get through the material, we have to look at many points. Has the technology
improved the student’s ability to collaborate, to connect with other students
in the class or around the world, to organize and synthesize the material into
a cohesive message with a clear objective.
In short, can technology transform education? Yes. Does it
always? No
Thanks for reading,
Jerry
I agree that technology has benefits in some applications, not in others. Pertaining to the experiment we read about in the Selco article, I don't believe technology would enhance the activity or student achievement. What I liked about the experiment was the accessibility to the common ingredients, and how some students continued to experiment at home in their kitchen. If technology was required, they may not have the capability to do that (unless, it used a cell phone).
ReplyDeleteStacey,
DeleteI agree. Technology can add to the accuracy of measurements but in this case we are talking specifically about Web 2.0 technology. I don't think adding Web 2.0 to this mix would add anything to the experiment except complexity and the change of focus from the experiment to getting the technology up and running and getting everyone to the point where they can use it.