Monday - May 3, 2010
Michael Leiboff, a writer for Campus Technology, recently wrote a thought-provoking article about how advanced technology classrooms fail. Leiboff believes that while most have a measurable level of success, they also have flaws which originate during the planning stages.
“Unfortunately, many of the seeds of future problems are inadvertently planted during the early planning stages of the classroom design process and in large measure could have been avoided,” said Leiboff.
He expounded on a number of problems like focusing too much on flexibility or having insufficient support staff to address technical problems quickly and efficiently. However, one of the most important issues he addressed is how schools and universities build a technological classroom merely for the sake of doing it.
“[T]here seems to be the implicit assumption that building a smart classroom can be a goal unto itself,” said Leiboff. “If you build it, it will be used and add value. It will add a competitive advantage to our institution.”
Leiboff reasons that such thought often leads to underutilized and unsupported equipment that fails to become integrated into a teacher’s curriculum. Throw in a general complacency that many teachers have experimenting with and adapting their teaching style to modern tech, and you have the recipe for a true technology facade in the classroom.
Such facades are everywhere and are often perpetuated by teachers who use tech in the classroom without having a good reason to do so. Sure, students are increasingly savvy with their Web-ready mobile devices, but does using them during a classroom activity advance the topic under discussion? Do the installed projectors and Internet devices contribute to the curriculum or are they being used for the sake of being used?
As Leiboff mentions in his article, there are many ways to protect against such technology facades. One important method is ensuring that teachers are given support with the creation and modification of classroom curriculum that intertwines traditional methodologies with tech-based approaches to learning. The award-winning Technology Across the Curriculum program utilized at George Mason University is one early example of teachers and university staff working together to form a robust curriculum that incorporates technology and its utilization. Others like teacher Lisa Stevens go it alone, creating their own curriculum that is tailored specifically to them and their students’ needs.
Another way to combat against tech facades is to integrate aggressive training and reliable tech support with any technology rollout. If teachers aren’t given a minimum level of mandatory training in the use of classroom technology, the tech is often ignored or underutilized. And if teachers aren’t quickly supported when something unexpected occurs, opinion will often turn sour. Often all it takes is one bad experience with a malfunctioning projector or a complex program to turn a teacher — and the technology — off.
Does your school or university have technology merely for the sake of it? What else can you or education staff do to kill the dreaded tech facade?
Monday - Apr 12, 2010
It’s easy to see how Internet-ready computers in schools can supplement research projects and process data. But it’s tough for some to buy into the idea that computers and mobile technologies will revolutionize schools everywhere.
Bob Pearlman, former teacher and director of strategic planning for the nonprofit New Technology Foundation, believes that in addition to installing technological tools in schools, the teaching methodology and planning must be altered to better integrate the technology.
“Unless you change how you teach and how kids work, new technology is not really going to make a difference,” he told the New York Times in August 2008.
The nonprofit created a project-based teaching model that incorporates technological tools to help prepare students for a more collaborative and self-directed future. The methodology has been adopted by 41 schools in nine U.S. states with more in the works.
This approach to teaching is increasingly important as new tools are being constantly developed. Most recently, the release of Apple’s iPad has raised the eyebrows of students and educators alike.
“As a student … I see a lot of potential for the iPad,” said high school student Eli Blumenthal on the Teen Tech Blog. “I actually believe that this could be a great device, and am really eager to pick one up for this reason alone — this could finally be the perfect school computer.”
Ashlee Ritzko, a fourth-grade teacher in Tennessee, believes that the iPad could have a place in her classroom as well. “I personally wouldn’t buy a $1,200 laptop for the classroom, but it sounds like the iPad would not only be useful and portable, but also more affordable,” she told The Journal.
“The device’s touch screen would be excellent, especially if I could hook the iPad up to my projector. It would make classroom presentations much easier,” she added.
Despite the optimism, there’s still a great deal of discussion about how the 1.5-pound (0.68 kg) tablet may or may not change the field of education. While the idea of hauling the lightweight tablet around schools and campuses in lieu of heavy textbooks sounds intriguing, it remains to be seen just how interactive such textbooks will be. Yet it appears that the major textbook manufacturers are willing to adopt e-textbooks for the iPad. It’s assumed that, depending on the success of the iPad and other tablet devices, the interactivity of e-textbooks may quickly improve.
Textbook companies aren’t the first to adopt the iPad. Developers of education software are already embracing the iPad, with company LanSchool making an application that extends the functionality of its existing classroom software to the tablet.
Some universities are also making an early jump into the iPad fray. Seton Hill University announced its intention to give an iPad to every full time student. “We see the iPad as a platform that allows our students the ability to call up information while they are sitting in a class — to create and share information not only with other students but with faculty,” university president JoAnne Boyle told the Huffington Post.
Will the iPad and similar tablets “change education this year and in the future” or will it be another fad? Will students (who typically have little money) be able to afford it? Will useful applications be made for the technology? While the iPad represents the next potential technological step in schools, these questions and more must likely be answered before educators fully integrate it into their classroom and methodology.
