Carpe Diem

Tonight I watched a Webinar on the use of technology in the classroom and the technological advance we will see in the near future. Dr. Soloway, the speaker in the presentation, compared two different schools and explained how they used technology to teach students. In one school, Carpe Diem, students spent half of the day on computers being drilled with information, while in another school, St. Mary's, students carried around mobile devices and were engaged in hands-on learning.  Dr. Soloway pointed out that Carpe Diem's "teaching" has resulted in higher test scores, but does that mean students are actually learning and understanding the material? For some learners, that could be the case. For others, they may need a more "learn while doing" or "hands-on" type of approach, and that is hard to get while being stuck in front of a computer all day. Just because you are able to retain information long enough to take a test, does not mean that you actually learned it.

I think schools need to implement technology into classrooms, but I don't think teachers should be focused only on technology because it may not be fitting for every every single situation or learning style. Technology is a great tool when used appropriately, but there can also be negative impacts. For example, technology makes cheating easier and it could be more distracting than helpful in a classroom with many students. Also, as in the case of Carpe Diem education, it could take away from social interaction, which is a very important aspect of education. Students need to learn how to work with each other as part of a team, and although collaborative work can be done online, working out issues face-to-face and daily conversations enhances social skills and prepares students for the real world.

In terms of cheating, I specifically think of my classroom as an English teacher and how technology could affect student learning. For example, let's say I gave my students an assignment to read part of The Scarlet Letter. The purpose of this assignment wouldn't necessarily be to learn how the story goes and memorize the plot, but to build reading comprehension and think about important themes and characters. Without giving this assignment any thought at all, students could quickly go online and in about five clicks they could find a plot summary, important themes, and character descriptions. Enough to fake a teacher, anyway. Now, what would that teach a student? Nothing. Without any original thought, they would quickly forget the book and the themes and they would walk away from this assignment having learned nothing and feeling as though they "won." I know these types of things will happen, so that's why I'm a big fan of reading books in class and not giving take home reading assignments. That way, I can monitor original thought and give impromptu class discussion topics that we can work through together.

The sad truth of it is, my example above is one of many that teachers now have to think about when giving an assignment. It's a wonderful thing that so much information is available to us through a few clicks of a mouse, but it can also be harmful because of the shortcut approach many students take to learning. I fear that bringing in mobile learning devices will only enhance the opportunities for students to become distracted and cheat their way through their education. However, if mobile devices are going to be used, I would like to see Ipads above any type of smartphone because of the size. I think they would be easier for students to view, easier for teachers to see (as opposed to students sneaking out a smartphone during a test), and I believe they have more capabilities.

On the bright side, technology definitely provides many great learning opportunities for students and every school should have a supply of technological devices available for students at all times. In my English classroom, laptops will be used to type papers and gather research; and, Powerpoint and/or Prezi could be used to present an oral presentation. Technology is growing in society, therefore it should be growing in the classroom. One purpose of education is to prepare students for the real world, so why shouldn't we teach them about technology inside the walls of our school since they will be immersed in it the moment they leave school grounds?