"After reading the articles and attending the class on June 29, I have become worried about the socioeconomic issues related with all of these technology issues.
I have recently returned to the US from Cameroon, Africa, where I primarily worked as a teacher. In Cameroon, I had to carry my chalk to class because I would not have had it otherwise, my students were awe to see copies of diagrams of the male and female reproductive organs (they had never seen one before), and a stapler was referred to as "the machine."
"Could I buy a stapler?" I asked the woman who ran the bookstore in my village.
She placed a box of staples on the counter.
"No," I said. "A stapler." I made the customary hand motion one makes while using a stapler.
"Oh," she said, awareness dawning. "The machine."
Today in class while we were talking about what would we want in our future classrooms, I was reminded of being a child looking through the J C Penney Christmas catalog and dreaming of all the glorious merchandise that I would gain in an impossible future. "I want a smart board and a digital projector and laptops for everyone!"
In a global sense, countries that are wired (the developed countries) are increasing the gap between them and lesser developed countries. We are now becoming more effective and efficient at all of our capabilities. Won't this phenomenon now happen inside US schools that are more media savvy and technologically advanced versus ones that are not? Won't this hurt the students who do not have a computer at home? And remember, a lot of students who don't have a computer at home are the very students who don't have time to stay after school to work in the computer lab because they have to go to an after-school job."
My response follows
Mark,
The insight you bring from your experience is wonderful, but I would like to investigate the statement, "In a global sense, countries that are wired (the developed countries) are increasing the gap between them and lesser developed countries. We are now becoming more effective and efficient at all of our capabilities." I am not sure there is always a direct correlation between technology and efficiency. In fact, I believe there is often a reverse correlation. In the 90's a very prominent economist put forth a theory of "The Productivity Paradox," (http://ccs.mit.edu/papers/CCSWP130/ccswp130.html). Statistically the more technology introduced the business became less productive. Now there are possible reasons for this like a "lag" in productivity because of a lack of overall infrastructure (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_paradox)or measurement tools of the time could be hiding the benefit. Later studies in the late 90's began to show a more positive correlation between technology and productivity and efficiency. Now productivity may take a hit because of improper use of technology (email, blogging, surfing.)
I realize the correlation of business to education is tenative at best, but I do believe we can learn something by viewing another arena entirely.
I would also like to point out that the government agencies in the U.S. were very slow to jump on the IT and computer band-wagon. They took a "lets see how they work in private industry" approach and did not widely invest in the technology until it was generally accepted as proven. This saved millions of dollars. Intially there were many programs and a few platforms to choose from, but by waiting and seeing who became the industry leaders, money was saved. The savings come from not investing in technology that ultimately would fail or not meet the expectations of the users and in not training people on technology that would eventually be abandoned.
So I guess I am saying, by not joining in the technological menagrie in its infant steps, there are benefits. Money savings being one, but also a hind-sight knowledge of what works and advice from current users of certain technologies. It is also easier "catch up" than to be an innovator. Look at how quickly the Japanese auto-makers were able to match and then pass US auto-makers.
On a side note, I am not convinced that technology is making us better learners. Technology relies on a false speed of life, one that is dependent on unsustanable resources. I am not sure that this technological age is developing a healthy attitude or thought process. One current theory says there is a high relationship between ADHD and a deficet in natural settings, they call it Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD), intial studies have shown that ADHD put back into a natural environment benefit from an increased ability to learn in a focused way.
I would also like comment on your observation about students with out computers at home. This is not fair, but it stems from a deeper issue which you touch on. These are the same kids that need to go to an after school job. They have been at a disadvantage from the very beginning. They are the kids whose parents work doubles and they need to pick up the extra slack around the house cleaning and cooking, the kids that do not have as much time to do homework and make additional connections in the materials. The kids who will probably not have the same opportunities as the advantaged when it comes to higher education. This is a huge issue, that is often overlooked. Thank you Mark.
2 comments:
Dave
Some really important points your raise in your post. The issue of the digital divide is very difficult for teachers. While some teachers argue that they would prefer not to integrate technology because some of their students do not have access outside of school or the school's resources are below average (which can make it very frusterating to use the technology tools). Other teachers argue that they HAVE to use the technology because if their students do not have exposure at home or outside of school , than how/where will they be able to learn to become digitally literate in society? How will they learn to use the internet/technology tools for job resources and professional growth? So some teachers feel very responsible for introducing the tools and showing them how to use the tools for growth. In addition, I often hear teachers who are in lower income districts ask for ways to "use what resources we have"---one resource that 99% of schools do have is access to the internet. That is why Jeff and I will focus a lot on tools that are free and accessible from the internet such as our wiki and blog sites that we have developed. No extra funding needed. Please keep bringing up these issues, as they are questions I'm sure many of your classmates share.
Dave,
I thought this was a really interesting post. In particular, I was drawn to your comments on the relationship between an entirely digital/virtual life and an attention span deficit. I it's a key point: it's not that technology isn't useful/effective/engaging. But I don't want my students to undervalue face-to-face human interaction. Or "real world" environments. While technology can give voice to those who are voiceless in "real world" settings, I don't want to set them up to use technology to disconnect or hide from the "real world."
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