During elementary school, my grandpa was considered the dunce and was forced into a corner many times. He did not attend high school and this influenced the rest of his life.
Grandpa always felt beneath others – and so he tried everything in his power to understand. He would simplify ideas and ask questions.
One of the most powerful questions he would ask about technology and public schools is – which technologies are the best and why?
Despite the fact that public schools and outside organizations have dumped billions into technology – nothing has changed. Student achievement has not changed. Progress is still a fancy word. And technology has not advanced to a point that all students learn efficiently.
The struggle is not the hardware or software but the simple use of the devices. Administrators and districts can bring in computer labs – but if students just sit and look up the latest prices of Nike Shoes – well – it’s a waste of money.
The use of the technology is more important than the specific equipment.
Consider Promethean ActivExpressions purchased by our school. My students use these every day. In other classes, they are used “sometimes.”
Nine percent of the school’s chemistry students scored advanced and proficient in 2011. After the use of the devices, 30% of the 10th graders scored advanced and proficient. None of the other classes saw the same dramatic increase.
The devices allowed us to ask the same questions, over and over again. More important, students read the questions and attempted to answer them. If they were wrong then they were asked the same question again.
Repetition is nothing new in academics. While it has been vilified – drill and kill still works. It’s the basics or foundations the students need so that they can critically think later in life. For now – they need to just learn the basics.
Was it the technology or the use? My premise is that the use of the technology was key.
Send me to the desert with a group of kids and they will learn. Yes – without electricity, without computers, without gps and smartphones. Kids will learn when you convince them that they need to learn.
You offered a great point in your article! I forgot about reading it earlier until I stumbled across it again this morning. Thanks for the reminder that teaching and learning are about more than gismos in an oasis.