Maybe YES....Maybe NO!

Question of the Week Archive

September 5, 2006 - September 11, 2006

Good Enough without Technology?

Blogger David Jakes takes issue with the idea that in today's schools it is possible to be a good teacher without using technology. That's because David believes that teachers who don't use technology aren't doing their job, since a big part of today's teaching job is to help students understand how to use the tools of 21st Century technology. Read David's blog and then tell us what you think.

a) Yes, core literacy reading and math skills are what will make students successful.

14%

b) Maybe, but their students are missing out on learning about tools that enhances learning.

33%

c) No. Technology is a core element of literacy for the 21st century and students need to learn about it and use it consistently.

54%

Comment: The use of technology for techology's sake is wrong. In science, there are some things that technology cannot enhance. A pendulum will swing to and fro, illustrating the transformation of energy and Newton's laws. All of the technology in the world won't change its path or make it any more obvious to the student what the pendulum is doing. Comment: The world of technology and its use is advancing so quickly, and has advanced so quickly, that most current teachers have not been able to keep up, so many students today are being left "in the dust" so to speak, because they are not being exposed to the use of modern technology. Comment: What is increasingly self evident to me as a teacher in this brave new world, is that almost every and any profession that today's students will be a part of will require the ability to use technology. I submit that most of the students that I teach in chemistry and biology will likely find that learning various aspects of the use of technology to be more useful in their lives than much of the core curricular concepts I am required to teach. Its hard to argue with the fact that if I neglect to teach my curriculum within a context of the 21st century technological realm, I am doing my students a disservice. James Workman Downers Grove South High School Science Department Comment: At many companies, people applying for jobs are directed to a computer or online application. Comment: I think that if you don't realize how much students' thinking and learning styles have changed, then you are going to continue to see horrific decline. Technology is REALITY. Pedophiles are in Wal-Mart and on the street. Should we stop our kids from walking and from shopping, as well? Overreaction. Comment: unfortunately here in Australia there is not enough resourcing to allow the consistent use of good quality ICT tools Comment: Modern "technology" is just another tool for students to use. Why would you want your students to do without the experience of using the learning tools available? Comment: If students can't read critically, then the wealth of information available to them through the Internet will only drown them. I also believe that younger students desperately need concrete experiences BEFORE they start creating pictures with Kid Pix etc. So... it really depends how old the students are that the teachers are working with! Comment: Technology is just a tool, the use of which can be taught fairly easily and quickly - I am 59 and taught myself how to use computers back in the late 1970s when the company I worked for purchased a mini and later a PC system. The more difficult part of the equation is what to use the computer (or any tool) for. I have been successful not because I had computer skills but because I had the background and knowledge, acquired through a good education, to successfully apply the tools. Comment: (part of)Powerful literacy involves the student to research information and form an opinion. It also includes the ability to become a self learner, to keep up with all the information. In order to do this you need to use the tools of the 21st century. Comment: In todays world, we as educators are usually behind most of our students, tecnologically. We should be teaching them to think on all levels, not just with the current technology. Remember, it is a tool, not the end point of eduction. Comment: Although it may seem that most students are exposed to enough technology without the help of schools, educators can't assume that all students have this exposure. Besides, using technology for video gaming and instant messaging doesn't constitute knowing how to use technology in the workplace. Comment: Technology is a tool, but not the only tool. Not ALL teachers need to use ALL the tools available to be effective teachers. Comment: I think that in today's society, there's no way to escape technology. Students need to be educated about it to be successful in the other core areas: reading, writing, math, and science. Comment: I answered B but C applies as well -- most of our students will need the tools of technology in their first, second, and every job they ever have. Comment: In today's world we need to have a increased in what a Liberal Studies Program calls "well rounded education." As a non traditional student, my first plan was to become a computer programmer. After 3 years at a community college aquiring all the core classes I found that programming was not what I wanted. Now I am in a Liberal Studies program heading into a Individual Option Masters program to become a person who will work within online learning. This is the way the future is heading and I plan on being someone to aid teachers to use technology to increase the hireability of students after graduating college. Comment: It depends. What grade level? Learning to read, math fundalmentals, independent thinking, creative problem solving are not welded to technology. Thinking that we are teaching technology now that will still be around in 5-10 years is absurd. Things will most assuredly be different in 6 mos. and much different by the time the little ones get to the job market. There are two most important components in the classroom: students and good teachers. Everything else is a tool to use or not to use.