We can never have too much technology in our schools. Technology is the future of our nation, and the lack of technology in some of our schools is shocking. There are some schools where kids who are not exposed to computers at home (shocking to think about in this age, I know), they're not getting exposed to modern computers at all, because the computers in their classroom are just those old Apples with orange-and-black screens that you played Oregon Trail on.
While these "low cost laptops" clearly isn't the answer, the classroom of the future is a laptop on every desk, for every pupil. Textbooks are going to be a thing of the past. Kids can access the textbooks in digital format, the text can be delivered in multimedia format that makes learning easier, they take the computers home and access the text from home for homework purposes, etc. Some private schools are already moving in this direction.
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OK, (hypothetically) now that we're in the future and all the kids are online with full bellies...are they going to learn any better, any faster? Will they read sooner, memorize their multiplication tables, learn more formal English than text-speak?
Technology is the way of the future, and we need our great minds connected. But what about the not-so-great ones? Are as nation's children as a whole going to fare better in school and beyond simply because they have more technology?
I cannot do any of my coursework online. I cannot seem to retain information as well in front of a computer for some reason, and my eyes suffer after a few hours.
OK, (hypothetically) now that we're in the future and all the kids are online with full bellies...are they going to learn any better, any faster?Â* Will they read sooner, memorize their multiplication tables, learn more formal English than text-speak?
Technology is the way of the future, and we need our great minds connected.Â* But what about the not-so-great ones?Â* Are as nation's children as a whole going to fare better in school and beyond simply because they have more technology?
I think, at the very least, if kids are using a computer for daily tasks, rather than to just play games on or IM their friends on, they will graduate school with a basic understanding of how computers work. Will they actually learn any better? I don't know about that. I can see a multitude of ways that computers can be used to aid learning . . . imagine reading page 131 of your history book about the Watergate hearings and being able to click on an icon on the side of the page and getting a video feed of the actual hearings. Or reading on page 92 about the Holocaust and being able to click a link for an audio clip of a Holocaust survivor.
The biggest question, I think, is does the benefit outweigh the cost? If textbooks truly do go digital, I'm sure there would be at least some cost savings realized there. But there's no mistaking the fact that most school systems are strapped for cash. Of course, in Tennessee, Gov. Phil Bredesen (a Democrat) is proposing increasing the cigarette tax 40 cents per pack and using the revenues for education. The funds would be divided across the state according to the number of students in the system who are economically "at-risk" as defined by NCLB. Normally I'm opposed to any kind of additional tax, even on things like tobacco and alcohol, but our cig tax is well below the national average anyway. Our county, which has roughly 4,000 students, would receive close to $1m annually. That would buy quite a few laptops.
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We must be the change we wish to see in the world -- Ghandi
http://www.rightminded.net
I cannot do any of my coursework online. I cannot seem to retain information as well in front of a computer for some reason, and my eyes suffer after a few hours.
I do. College texts are already being offered electronically as an option to students, and some prep school publishers have done trial runs of digital text. Of course you can't put the cart before the horse, and a lot of schools would have to purchase computers for every student before it would be possible, so I don't think we're necessarily close.
I don't think it's a good thing. I took college courses online and had a terrible time with them. I can't concentrate long enough when I'm looking at a computer screen. I have a hard time concentrating long enough to get on here and tell Charlie P that he is full of B.S.
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We must be the change we wish to see in the world -- Ghandi
http://www.rightminded.net
I think, at the very least, if kids are using a computer for daily tasks, rather than to just play games on or IM their friends on, they will graduate school with a basic understanding of how computers work. Will they actually learn any better? I don't know about that.
Ever watch a teen at a fast food counter get a "deer in the headlights" look when they have to actually make change because their idiot box register with pictures instead of numbers is having a spasm? Most kids I've met lately couldn't even do simple multiplication problems without a calculator. There is such a thing as too much tech sometimes.
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I think, at the very least, if kids are using a computer for daily tasks, rather than to just play games on or IM their friends on, they will graduate school with a basic understanding of how computers work. Will they actually learn any better? I don't know about that. I can see a multitude of ways that computers can be used to aid learning . . . imagine reading page 131 of your history book about the Watergate hearings and being able to click on an icon on the side of the page and getting a video feed of the actual hearings. Or reading on page 92 about the Holocaust and being able to click a link for an audio clip of a Holocaust survivor.
Yes.
Quote:
The biggest question, I think, is does the benefit outweigh the cost? If textbooks truly do go digital, I'm sure there would be at least some cost savings realized there. But there's no mistaking the fact that most school systems are strapped for cash. Of course, in Tennessee, Gov. Phil Bredesen (a Democrat) is proposing increasing the cigarette tax 40 cents per pack and using the revenues for education. The funds would be divided across the state according to the number of students in the system who are economically "at-risk" as defined by NCLB. Normally I'm opposed to any kind of additional tax, even on things like tobacco and alcohol, but our cig tax is well below the national average anyway. Our county, which has roughly 4,000 students, would receive close to $1m annually. That would buy quite a few laptops.
That's a good point on cutting overhead with textbooks. Of course, I'm sure publishers will find a way to charge the same rates as always for material. In any case, the cash-strapped status of many schools is precisely why I think this laptop program isentirely inappropriate. Handing out subsidized, under-powered computers gobbles up funding quickly, but does little address the academic needs of children.
Sure, I'd like to heara speech before reading it, but doesauditory reinforcement really lead to a better comprehension of the material? I really don't think so. These laptops will accomplish a few things, as you first mentioned, but they will do absolutely nothing to teach, help kids learn, or satisfy the immediate goals of high literacy rates or even acceptable standardized test scores.
This is alla very noble endeavor, but it just doesn't seem like a solution to an actual problem, at least not in the States. And, being stuck in my fiscally conservative ways, I don't see any legitimate excuse to increase taxes. You redistribute what you already take, not take more. At least in my idea of good government. My skepticism of the laptop program stands.
Why on earth would every student need a computer in class? They should be listening to the teacher. I do believe they should have access to computers in the school for research etc. but having them in the classroom is not a good move.
Aside from the obvious problems of cheating, ignoring class etc. The noise alone from 30 kids typing would be a huge disruption.
In class, listen to the teacher, the teacher SHOULD have access to a computer with internet access and projection capabilities.
Schools need more, but the students in each class, no.
Every Kid Needs A Laptop
