I think I do like the idea of having laptops in the classroom. As Skip had mentioned, the video does not address the issue of training the teachers. I know if something came into the schools like that here, my step-mother would be lost. She is getting better at computers, but is definitely not highly functional with them.
Also a concern that one of the parents brought up was that teachers are spending less time teaching the students, that they are just having students find the information on the web. I think that could be a good thing as long as the teachers are making sure the students are finding accurate information. I had a teacher who would give tests, but would allow them open book. This teacher believed that being able to find accurate information was more important then having it memorized. I agree with this and think that if the teacher is helping the students learn how to find accurate and current information as opposed to just giving them facts, it can benefit the students in the long run... the teach a man to fish philosophy!
this video also showed the positives of having a computer for social studies class. The students can access newspapers from all over the world and have a much easier time tracking current events.
I think as a whole, bringing laptops into the schools is a great idea.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Very good point about the accuracy of information that students may find. Check out my comments on Alice's blog--she brought up the same point and I went into an explanation there. I like the analogy of "teaching a man to fish." That's a good way to explain it to people.
I also went into a discussion of staff development on Alice's blog. Check it out for some ways that the Denali Borough School District approaches that problem. You have a good range of technology skills, so the problem isn't as pronounced for you as it is for folks like your step-mother.
Very good observations. Thanks.
I love the part where you mentioned something like; "As long as the students are finding accurate information, instead of memorizing them." I never really thought of test taking to be that way.
I think that the parent was worried that the teacher was not doing their job but rather making the students teach themselves. Even if you use computers in every subject, there will be times that a teacher still has to instruct the students. There was no part in the video that indicated that the students were having to find on the computer the instructions for how to do an assignment. You would still have to make sure they new how to do long division, etc.
Post a Comment