Group items tagged

It's quite clear the overarching things I've learned this semester about technology. I mean, just look at my first entry about how embarrassing it is to accidentally tweet and then read the rest of this--how I'm actually sizing up different types of technology based on their usefulness in the classroom based on my understanding of them. Part of me feels like being on a commercial just to help sponsor the idea of Technology. Zoom in on a college student up to her neck in twisted computer chords, her face lit by a blinking computer screen. Announcer: "Are you tired of spending endless hours trying to figure out what all those buttons and keys do?" College student looks up pathetically and nods. "Are you tired of looking like a fool by a little box that can't think for itself?" College student starts to weep. "Now, with just a little assistance, you can conquer a moderate amount of your technology anxieties!" College student beams with joy. Different shot of that same student walking down the stairs of a powerful looking building--possibly a university or corporation. Student: "I used to freak out about all things computer, but now I'm telling my superiors how to do things that can better their lives. Thanks, Technology!"

It’s worth noting that most of the focus of the survey seemed to be on using pre-packaged games in the classroom, rather than making games or experimenting with other methods of play, and the survey is highly biased towards the digital–which is of course not inherently any more valuable for learning than physical games.

Yet for women in developing nations—far more so than in wealthy countries like those in North America and Europe—there is also reason to be fearful. One in five African women, for instance, will lose a baby during labor or soon after. And each year, hundreds of thousands of women in Africa will themselves die or suffer debilitating injuries during pregnancy and childbirth. In this quiz, get a sense of the stark disparities in maternal health for women in rich and poor countries.

“Some questions invite inspiration. Great teachers ask those. That may take just a small change of words, an inflection of the voice. Here is a question that might not invite inspiration: ‘How is a true prophet recognized?’ That question invites an answer which is a list, drawn from memory, of the scriptures and the words of living prophets. … “But we could ask the question this way, with just a small difference: ‘When have you felt you were in the presence of a prophet?’ That will invite individuals to search their memories for feelings. After asking, we might wait for a moment before calling on someone to respond. Even those who do not speak will be thinking of spiritual experiences. That will invite the Holy Ghost.”1

“The major role of a teacher is to prepare the way so that the [students] will have a spiritual experience with the Lord. … All true gospel teaching is done by the Holy Ghost. … We must be careful not to get in the way. … The most important thing a teacher can do is to help the student feel the Spirit of the Lord.”

student participation can fill about half of the lesson time

We can’t answer the question “Is tech useful in schools?” until we’ve grappled with a deeper question: “What kinds of learning should be taking place in those schools?” If we favor an approach by which students actively construct meaning, an interactive process that involves a deep understanding of ideas and emerges from the interests and questions of the learners themselves, well, then we’d be open to the kinds of technology that truly support this kind of inquiry. Show me something that helps kids create, design, produce, construct—and I’m on board. Show me something that helps them make things collaboratively (rather than just on their own), and I’m even more interested—although it’s important to keep in mind that meaningful learning never requires technology, so even here we should object whenever we’re told that software (or a device with a screen) is essential.

If you haven’t given much thought to the kind of intellectual life we might want schools to foster, then it might sound exciting to “personalize” or “customize” learning. But as I argued not long ago, we shouldn’t confuse personalized learning with personal learning. The first involves adjusting the difficulty level of prefabricated skills-based exercises based on students’ test scores, and it requires the purchase of software. The second involves working with each student to create projects of intellectual discovery that reflect his or her unique needs and interests, and it requires the presence of a caring teacher who knows each child well.