2/24/11
Is old technology bad technology? Is no technology better than bad technology? Is there such as thing as no technology? I raise these questions and ask you to look through and contemplate these thoughts and questions not only through a general educator’s lens, but also through a special educator’s lens.
I’ve heard that certain private schools in the area are obtaining iPads for kindergarten students to practice writing their ABC’s with their fingers. I have seen certain Science teachers pass an iPad out to students in the middle of class, to have them look up the answer to a question, to share it with the rest of the class, while the teacher continues teaching the lesson and fielding other responses. I have seen an interactive Periodic Table of Elements app and had the pleasure of watching some students practice math flash cards on their iPod touches. What is the best technology?
I have also been in classrooms that do not have a smartboard and have to share an overhead projector between two rooms. These teachers still use different colored chalk and invite students to come up to the board at the same time, rather than individually, as more than one student can write on a chalk board at the same time, but this is impossible with a smartboard. Which is the better technology?
I raise these questions because I think they are important questions for any teacher to contemplate. Unfortunately, if a math teacher loves his chalk boards or white boards, it may not always be up to him if he or she gets to keep these boards. The district may make the decision to put up a promethean board or a smartboard, simply due to a state grant, where if they don’t use the money, they lose it. As humans, we naturally adjust to change. Teachers make necessary adjustments to change, but is one form of teacher necessarily “better” than another?
Technology can be an excellent support to keep students with disabilities learning at the same pace as the rest of the class. Technology that is new is usually fun and generally keeps student attention longer, as students enjoy learning, especially if it involves learning a form of technology that is developed to be user-friendly and interactive.
If chalk boards are considered old technology, is this considered bad technology? Has a chalk board ever broken down before? How about a smart board or overhead? What was there before chalk boards? Will future generations someday ask “what was there before smartboards?” As if technology eventually becomes so old and obsolete that people forget about it? Is it that technology ever truly becomes obsolete or is it that it is human nature and the consumer spirit in America that is constantly looking for the next best thing?
I consider myself an intermediate computer user and I use a fairly respectable Windows PC laptop, which runs fast on Vista. HOWEVER, one of my friend’s from high school (we graduated in 2002), still uses the same desktop computer he had, operating on Linux. Now, I do not know much about computers other than over time they begin running more slowly. My friend told me the reason people always need new computers is because websites and programs are becoming ever-more needy of memory usage and “fat” with “stuff”. Eventually, Windows and Apple computers need to be replaced because they don’t “keep it simple” like Linux. Does this make an older computer operating on Linux software any less effective than a brand new PC or Mac?
There is no easy answer to the many questions I presented, but as with any blog post, there is always room for comment! Feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions on the subject!
