Classroom Technology - by Scott Gibbs

1. By
Scott Gibbs

2.  Do we need it?
 Are we using it?
 Is it available for students?
 Are the teachers trained for
implementing technology into their
classrooms?
 What are the benefits of using it?

4.  Eighty-percent of classrooms are equipped with
technology with the intentions of enhancing or
improving our current methods of teaching. However,
they are seldom used for these reasons. Four in ten
teachers said their student don’t use computers at all
during the typical week. Some technology experts say
teachers need to wake up to the learning potential of
computers. They should stop wondering whether to
use computer-based resources and figure out how to
best use them. Respondents to the Education Week
survey also indicated that they would increase their
use of digital content in the classroom if they had more
time to try out software and received training on
integrating technology in the curriculum. (Trotter,
1999) Also in the survey, 97% of respondents said they
use a computer at home and school for professional
activities. But only 53% said they use software for
classrooms instruction, and 61% use the internet for
instruction.


5.  Students at a school in New Jersey examine
artistic creativity in literary works, including
Oedipus Rex and the stories of Henry James.
But the 11th and 12th graders’ own creative
projects, poems, and “free writes” are a key
element of the course. A simple matter of
putting pen to paper? Not in this classroom.
Students in “Cyberlit,” as the class is
informally called, often create elaborate
presentations around their writings with
software design for Literature. They add their
best work to class Web site, creating a
permanent Internet resource available to absent
students, parents, or anyone else

6.  The promise is that technology can make reading and learning to read
easier for these children. For example, computers can support reading by
pronouncing words highlighted by the reader and by providing
immediate access to explanations and elaborations of the information
presented on the screen. (Reinking, 1994) These tools can increase
motivation and time spent reading, as computers and reading software
have been shown to hold the attention of struggling readers (Cosden,
Gerber, Semmel, Goldman, & Semmel, 1987). They can further provide
private instruction, where weaker readers learn and practice critical
reading skills, such as phonological awareness, word recognition skills,
and comprehensive skills.
 The benefits of technology are not just limited to computers. Other
technology such as televisions and recording devices can stimulate
literacy development. These new technologies also present a challenge,
as struggling readers and their teachers often require instruction and
assistance to learn how to use these tools fully and effectively. (Pressley,
1998)
 The hypothesis for this research is simple: technology will enhance
students’ efforts to successfully read, write, and learn on their grade level
and beyond. The conclusions: One of the most pressing questions in
reading instruction is what can schools do to reduce the number of
children experiencing reading difficulties and to help all students become
engaged and skilled readers.

7.  For the last twenty years, many educators, public officials,
and business leaders have argued that to keep ahead,
American children need to be computer-savvy from early
childhood onward. Using computers and the internet in
school will give kids a huge academic advantage and, in the
long term, prepare them to be winners in an ever more
competitive workplace.
 One of the most respected voices in American education
argues that when teachers are not trained to use new
technology, or given a chance to develop creative uses for it
in schools, computers end up being just souped-up
typewriters. Synthesizing all the research now available,
and drawing on his own studies of early childhood, high
school, and university classrooms, Larry Cuban found that
students and teachers use the new technologies far less in
the classroom than they do at home and that most
classrooms use is unimaginative.

8.  Conclusions/Outcomes: After twenty years of heavy
promotion, serious investment of funds, and
unswerving support from a disparate coalition of
parents, corporate executives, public officials, and
educators, computers are ubiquitous in schools. The
link between test score improvements and computer
availability and use is contested. Teachers have been
infrequent and limited users of the new technologies
for classroom instruction. The use of technology is far
from the project-based teaching and learning that
some techno-promoters have sought. Teachers at all
levels of schooling have used the new technology
basically to continue what they have always done:
communicate with parents, administrators, prepare
syllabi and lectures, grade-recording. Disappointing
to tech-advocates. ( Cuban, 2001)

9.  The Dark Side of the Internet
 As with everything in life, when there’s something
good, there’s also something bad lurking in its
shadows. The book, The Dark Side of the Internet, is a
primary research designed to bring awareness to the
dangers of using the internet. “Using the internet in
school makes the students vulnerable to different
kinds of criminals and deviants who populate the
internet. There are many different kinds of internet
predators that we should be aware of. With regard
to the seriousness of their behaviors, we can think of
these people as being on a continuum. At one end
are the people who simply want to cause a little
mischief. At the other end are the most serious
criminals in society, such as sexual deviants and
serial killers.” (Bocij, 2006)

10.  We’ve tried to make every classroom equipped with
technology, but now the quietly suppressed question of, “Is it
safe,” remains. When giving our students access to such a
wonderful concept of the information highway, we often
disregard the dangers of what is lurking behind the blinking
cursor on the computer. This information is valuable for
schools, teachers, law enforcement, and etc. However, anyone
reading research on the internet itself, is likely to gain the
overwhelming impression that the internet is populated solely
by blackmailers, perverts, thieves, and murderers. “Readers
should keep in mind that the deviants described represent a
minority, and that the majority of the internet is populated by
normal, everyday people. The internet can be dangerous, but
with a little caution, the benefits it brings easily outweigh the
potential risks.” (Bocij, 2006)
 Conclusions: We now have many new programs created to
counter the attacks of those listed in the book. We now have
filters that protect networks, thus protecting the students.
Anti-virus, anti-phishing, anti-spam, anti-adware, anti-
spyware, and anti-malware are just some of the latest measures
taken to combat cyber crime. As stated above, the benefits
heavily outweigh the risks.

11.  One more negative twist.
 According to Stoll, “High Tech Heretic, (another resource used in
this research) punctures the exaggerated benefits of everything
from foisting computers on preschoolers to “free” software to
computer “help desks” that help no one at all.” He asks, “Why
is there a relentless drumbeat for “computer literacy” by
educators and
 the high-tech industry when computer’s most common uses are
for word processing and games. Is diverting scarce education
resources from teachers and equipment in favor of computers
in the classroom the best use of school money?” (Stoll, 1999)
 Can computers take the place of real hands on subjects such as
chemistry? “The days of test tubes and Bunsen burners are fast
disappearing, as school districts get scared of students
handling chemicals. Too easy to spill acid, burn a finger, or
build a bomb. With safety concerns driving up the cost of real
chem. Labs, schools naturally turn to high-tech solutions:
computer simulations. School chemistry software comes
complete with pretty images of thermometers, pipets, and

12.  Other concerns are educators using the money-for-
technology scheme to the public for funding, but
then sneak in problem-based learning,
collaborative learning, or constructivist education.
At worst, it’s outright fraud: selling a hidden
agenda on the promise that technology will
improve our schools. (pp. 28)
 Conclusion: After reading this often critical book,
I’ve formed my opinion that computers are a waste
of money if they aren’t being used for what they
are intended for and not just used for spread
sheets, calendars, memos, emails, and games. I
agree that practical uses (of computers) for safety
can really benefit a chemistry class, virtual animals
for dissecting, math diagramming for visual
learners, reading, writing and of course,
instruction.

13.  Quote of syllogism from Silicon Valley:
 Changes make a better society.
 Technology brings about change.
 Therefore, technology makes a better society.