Properly Implemented Technology Improves Learning and Saves Money for Beleaguered Schools

Varga, B. (2010, October 21). Properly implemented technology improves learning and saves money for beleaguered schools . Retrieved from http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebprojectRED/10/prweb4686394.htm

The Project RED (Revolutionizing Education) released their findings to their survey on the implementation of technology in the classroom.  The survey found that schools that use of technology at the intervention level, a strong computer to student ratio and use of technology in core classes once a week resulted in schools having improved test scores and graduation rates, while simultaneously reducing disciplinary action and drop-out rates.  The project also said that the money spent by schools to implement the new technologies would be recouped by the amount of money schools saved by reducing their dropout rate.  “Intel provided lead sponsorship for the survey, with additional sponsorship provided by Apple, the Pearson Foundation, Qwest, and eChalk.”  Other sponsors included the Association of School Business Officials International, the Consortium for School Networking, the International Association for Online Learning, and the International Society for Technology in Education.

According to this press release a survey has found that schools with a high computer to student ratio and common integration of technology into the classroom have a higher success than schools with lower computer to student integration and less classroom integration of technology.  One factor that is missing is the demographic and economic breakdowns of the schools surveyed.  It would stand to reason that most schools with the high computer to student ratio are schools in wealthier neighborhoods with more funding available.  This economic disparity could lead to a number of other factors that lead to student learning, such as whether students are showing up to school having eaten breakfast or not.  This survey seems to treat computer as if they are some magical device that will improve education just by students being in the same room with them.  Computers are not magic, they are just a tool, and a tool that can be used positively in education.  However that use must be thoughtful and sophisticated, with educators and administrators willing to make a commitment to the tool’s use in classroom.  It is unsurprising to me that organizations with a pro-business and pro-computer background sponsored this survey along with the tech giants Intel and Apple. Both companies would stand to gain greatly if the perception of their products as magic education cure-alls, as this survey perports, persists.

Technology Integration: Ideas That Work

Starr, L. (2010, September 22). Technology integration: ideas that work. Education World, Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech176.shtml

            This article is about what tools the computer offers to make the computer a part of education.  The article focuses on Internet research, word processing, Excel, PowerPoint and the use of blogs for student teacher interaction.  Author seems to be especially enamored with the writing applications that the computer provides, saying that writing is the most “the most educational cognitive activity in which we and our students can be engaged. It is a process appropriate to learners of all ages and all subject areas, right across the K-college curriculum and beyond”.  The author also writes about using Excel to graphically produce charts.  Teachers having students create blogs as a useful tool in teacher and student interaction, again where students write.  PowerPoint is also seen as a fun and inclusive way of students presenting information.  The use of “Smart Boards” and microscopes attached to computers, which are attached to projectors, are also highlighted.  The author then states that administrators need to be on board and in favor of technological implementation in order for the transition to be successful.

Reaction:

While I did not see a date for this article I was led to believe that it was a few years old.  I am led to this conclusion by the gushing talk about the use of PowerPoint presentations and the novelty in which the idea of Internet research was presented.  The author also seems to adopt that computers are the cure-all for education point of view.  I believe that computers are nothing more than a tool, whose success in student learning is directly tied to teacher’s preparation and use of technology, not of the technology itself.  I do agree with the author that classes, teachers and administrators need to be open to technological integration, and a need to have a coherent vision for its use in schools, because this technology is not going away and is in fact becoming more and more ubiquitous.  One thing that the author doesn’t think about is how the computer changes the way that students think.  Sitting at a computer with an Internet connection can send a student’s mind spinning on any number of information topics that he may want to search for, which may or may not be on topic.  This presents a challenge to the teacher to be able to monitor student research, as well as present assignments that are more exciting than the web itself.  The author doesn’t also mention how the computer can be used for “Google-ing” answers, the high-tech equivalent of copying answers out of the book, a common student short-cut which results in zero learning.  Another consideration is that technology can get stale, the perception of PowerPoint a few years ago, and its perception today is a perfect example.  This presents educators with the challenge of keeping current on technology that fires the imagination of students, before it just becomes common, routine and the bane of all educators: “boring”.