Again from a Slashdot Article that I pointed out in a Previous Post There are some interesting points here in this conservative but perhaps realistic view of how technology is badly used in our schools. As a pro tech person its important that I can see where it can go wrong.
I am a high school teacher and from what I’ve seen in 10 years of public education is that technology is far more a crutch than anything. It’s like “A week in the lab, yeah!!” We are consumed with powerpoint (which should be banned from schools along with guns, knives drugs, and rap music) and making pretty things that look good but lack content. I did my MA thesis on writing and technology and lo and behold, not only do comptuers not improve writing, it actually hurts it by interrupting the pre-writing and totally eliminating the rewrite.
They have their place, as I teach the AP Comp Sci class, and will expanding the computer programming classes soon. However, as a history and econ teacher first, reading, writing, and analytical skill suffer.
I have an MA in Ed. Tech, so I’m no Luddite. Computers have their uses, but most often they’re a crutch, or worse, used improperly. Definitely have a tech curriculum, but integrating it into other disciplines, no way.
