Keep in mind that this experiment was focused on "classroom use" of Kindles, not necessarily "library use." Libraries have never supplied the resources used directly in the classroom for literature study (students don't markup library books!). At Cushing Academy, we are using Kindles to support recreational and personal interest reading rather than directly supporting the curriculum. In that role, they have worked very well.
Well, maybe not just like plain old books. Ebooks have many nice advantages for libraries, such as 24/7 access, always pristine and readable copies for the user, built-in dictionary (which our students tell us they really like) and, for the library itself, very efficient use of space and staff time.
"Last fall, Princeton launched a small experiment, replacing traditional textbooks with the Kindle DX, Amazon's large e-book reader. Almost from the beginning, the 50 students participating in the pilot program expressed dissatisfaction with the devices. Yesterday, a university report offered some more definitive findings. On the upside, students using the Kindle DX ended up using far less paper. (Paper consumption was generally reduced by 54%.) On the downside, students complained that the Kindle was fundamentally "ill-suited for class readings.""
"Instead of children bored out of their minds being taught how to use Word or Excel by bored teachers, we could have 11-year-olds able to write simple 2D computer animations," he said.
"Children are being forced to learn how to use applications, rather than to make them. They are becoming slaves to the user interface and are totally bored by it,"
The current programme of information and communications technology (ICT) study in England's schools will be scrapped from September, the education secretary has announced. It will be replaced by an "open source" curriculum in computer science and programming designed with the help of universities and industry.
Teaching is fundamentally about human interactions and that can’t be replaced by technology.
The simple act of removing the direct instruction (lecture) from the whole group changes the dynamic of the room and allows the teacher to personalize and individualize the learning for each student. Each student gets his/her own education which is tailored to his/her needs. Instead of a one size fits all education-each student gets just what they need when they need it.
But, how many of this situations occur every day, week, month, year in a teacher's practice?
Few would argue that without Captain Sully Sullenberger, a former fighter pilot with nearly 30 years of commercial aviation experience, there would have been no miracle on the Hudson
But, how many of such miracles are required every day? In the UK, for example, giving birth is attended by a nurse in the patient's room, but specialized surgeons and rooms are there in case they are needed. Why wouldn't that apply to teachers?
But the highly complex and nuanced demands of teaching cannot be met by computers executing repetitive tasks or simple transactions -- or even sophisticated algorithms. People learn in different ways, at different rates, and numerous variables can affect their progression on any given day -- including those in the social and emotional realm.
"Net Texts: The App for Replacing or Supplementing Textbooks
Net Texts helps schools replace or supplement textbooks with customized multimedia courses delivered to students' iPads, Android tablets, and laptops!"
With newer web-based applications, this is no longer the case. For example, Wordpress will deliver RSS (replaces listserv), a static front page with organized sub-pages and articles (replaces CMS) and a built-in forum. There's no need to adopt Twitter, which replaces only the listserv.
Research report emphasizing cultural change to iPad for e-reading sharing/collaborative work (e.g., Dropbox and iAnnotate) but online final exam still chose laptops (since not collaborative effort?)
Almost everyone who thinks seriously about education agrees that this paradigm-sometimes derided as "sage on a stage"-is flawed. They just can't agree on what should replace it. Flipped classrooms? Massive open online courses? Hands-on, project-based learning?
Both the author of the article and the people she criticizes are making a fundamental mistake. It is an illusion that kids once learned facts in some deeper way. If the tree octopus had been presented in a book, the kids would have made the same mistake. Much of traditional teaching was not about absorbing certain facts but about learning techniques for accessing those facts. The internet and google really have changed the way we access information. The real challenge is how to restructure knowledge itself to take advantage of the new forms of accessibility. And as for using technology in the classroom: banning computers is like forcing kids to memorize arithmetic tables in an age when everyone has a calculator. We don't need slide rules nor an abacus and there is no reason to teach kids how to use them.
"Teaching about sound in the classroom used to involve lots of fiddly bits of kit such as Signal Generators and Decibel Meters that would cost a lot of money and only get wheeled out once a year. Thankfully if you have an iPhone or iPad you can replace quite a bit of that kit with a couple of handy apps which are either free or relatively inexpensive.
Here's a couple to get you started:"
As technology evolves and its inner workings increasingly disappear from view, replaced with solid-state parts hidden by glass, aluminium and plastic, our understanding of what makes the world operate is similarly impeded. When machinery from just a few decades ago is viewed a world of moving parts, linkages, cogs and levers is revealed. These mechanical objects contain an inherent beauty and inspire curiosity in ways that modern devices with their pristine surfaces and simplified design language do not. Opportunities to explore devices from the past open our eyes and lead us to new questions of how our devices function, how machines do the jobs we need them to do and how engineers solve problems.
Think blocks are a manipulative devise that allow kids to build ideas physically,” he said. “It allows students to think about their thinking
By changing the structure of the room we can change the behavior of the teachers and the behavior of the kids.
In terms of equipping the classroom, it’s not taking additional budget money because we have to periodically replace classroom furniture anyway; we’re just not replacing it with the traditional desks and chairs.
We heard deeper discussion about the texts they were working with
If you're a Google Chrome for iOS fanatics out there, you'll be pleased to hear that a couple new Cydia tweaks have surfaced to make Google Chrome the best Safari replacement around.
In 1971 the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985 eliminated philosophy from high schools. Teachers, professors in departments of education, and political activists championed its return, while most academic philosophers were either indifferent or suspicious. The dictatorship seems to have understood philosophy's potential to create engaged citizens; it replaced philosophy with a course on Moral and Civic Education and one on Brazil's Social and Political Organization ("to inculcate good manners and patriotic values and to justify the political order of the generals," one UFBA colleague recalls from his high school days).