Group items tagged

An interesting, critical appraisal of MOOCs' transformative potential by education historian Larry Cuban. Includes some hilarious graphics, in addition to good insights...

Cuban asks an important question that cuts through the apparent controversy: what level of technology use is best for children in school? I think his response also highlights how to frame technology as a tool and enhancement rather than a replacement for hands-on learning

NYTimes article critical of the current push for technology in schools.  Raises questions about lack of improvement in test scores, budget tensions between $$ for teachers vs technology, and dearth of research showing  improved engagement.  Features comments by Larry Cuban.

Larry Cuban on Wonder Woman / Man superintendents

A reminder that technology is not in and of itself a motivating force in the classroom.

I wonder if different types of technology have different impacts. For example, I can absolutely see where students wouldn't be motivated by a digital whiteboard or a blog...too adult and too similar to traditional education. But what about things like games for learning? Would they draw in a non-traditional student and actually motivate them to learn, albeit indirectly? There seems to be research on the gamification aspect that shows its positive impact, so do Bill's comments only apply to a subset of educational technology?

For those who pine for film over digital movies, miss the clackety-clack of typewriters, or even rotary dial phones, well, get ready for the slow-motion demise of brick-and-mortar schools. COLLEGES TAKING OVER THE ENTIRE LEARNING PROCESS! STANFORD HAS STARTED --- OTHERS WILL FOLLOW!

Ipad app that teaches fractions

I tend to agree with Professor Cuban - "IPads are marvelous tools to engage kids, but then the novelty wears off and you get into hard-core issues of teaching and learning." The real challenge is to convert the initial excitement and performance improvement into sustained progress. The key may be in leveraging the increased self-efficacy of students.

This article makes me wonder about the novelty bump you get when you try anything new. In EcoMuve, they researched the effectiveness of EcoMuve vs a new ecology classroom based activity. This tactic is measuring the effectiveness of the technology. However in these studies, if they had kids using a computer game to practice fractions, did the control group practice fractions using a classroom based activity? 15% growth is not much to get excited about.

Not a new article but one to provide a bit of balance to techie fervor. Larry Cuban's articles and books keep popping up in syllabi so consequently I discovered his blog.