The Flickering Mind Part 3:
Using technology in schools doesn't prepare students for the real world. The U.S. Department of Education would tend to disagree with this (see Prepare Students for the Future section), but I consider myself a resident of the real world. Let me speak from experience.....
What Is the Real World?
Each day I get up and go to work, do whatever it is I have to do, and eventually arrive back to be where I want to be - with my wife and son, safe in the comfort of our home. Like so many others, I take refuge from the real world - traffic, work, collaboration, confrontation, etc. - at home...I basically live two seperate lives - my personal life and my professional life. But which one of them takes place in the real world? Instead of the answer being one or the other, I'd like to think about the common elements that occur in both.
Interaction with other people plays a big role in both of my real worlds. Whether I'm having a lovely dinner conversation with my family or making plans for a day of errands, I am actively communicating with others. When students use technology (computers) in the classroom, or in the computer lab, they are generally using them in ways that do not encourage interaction with other people. The most popular classroom software applications, like Accelerated Reader and many others, all promote individual activity and interaction with the computer. Consider this alternative approach to computer use...
Helping others solve their problems takes a significant part of my time and energy in both my personal and professional life. All day at work, I am dealing with others' problems (usually with their classroom technology equipment), and the same is true at home. My son and wife undoubtedly need help with problems that arise now and then, and I find it rewarding to be able to help out now and then. Where is the evidence of using computers in the classroom to solve problems?...Problems other than math problems?....It is possible, though. There are ways to incorporate the use of computers in a classroom setting that is more related to life in the real world.
A Good Teacher vs. A Good Computer
Ask anyone about an important milestone in their life or a time when they learned a valuable lesson, and they will most likely include another person's influence in their answer. Rarely will anyone say they had a life-changing experience without someone else being involved. Technology is not something that students need to learn in the literal sense. Anyone can use a computer. But learning how to use technology as a means toward something valuable is important. As a Technology Coach for my school district, it pains me to see computers sit idle in a classroom or lab. It also pains me to see them used for nothing more than AR quizzes or multiple-choice intervention questions. I am making a point to communicate effectively with others to help them solve the problem of using technology appropriately in their classroom.
That is how I stay involved with classrooms and connected to the real world.
Great stuff. Too many people write technology off as a savior of education. But the teacher must have an important role. If we, as teachers, are simply information dispensers, computers replace us easily. But if we are facilitators or real learning, computers can only aid in our work. An important distinction!
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