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Saturday, April 19, 2008

Journal # 9

Are Schools Inhibiting 21st Century Learning? By David Nagal. THE Journal, April 2008.

This article discusses the Speak Up survey relating to technology. Speak Up surveys are conducted every year to assess current educational issues and are made to be shared with policy makers in the state and the nation. This survey interviewed students, teachers, administrators and parents about the use of technology in the classroom. The idea that students often know more about emerging technologies while teachers and administrators are often behind the curve is addressed, as is the benefits of technology in the classroom. One of the problems the survey found is that students often feel that schools hold their technological use back by limiting the use of technological tools and the ways that they are able to use.
Questions
1. How do students who do not have access to this technology come into play?
Although the survey conveys the frustration of students who are not able to use their own equipment, or who are limited by the amount of time they can access technology in the classroom. It does not address how using personal technology may negatively impact students who do not have access to technological tools outside of the classroom. The survey did find out that only one third of students have access to a laptop outside of school.

2. How do you give students access to the internet in the classroom and keep them on task?
One of the problems that students have, according to the survey is that they are limited in their use of technology and how they can use it. One of the problems with having students using the internet is keeping them on task, and while I think it is important to allow students to explore technology on their own, especially if the students don’t have access to the internet outside of the classroom, it is important to make sure that they are doing things online that are educational and appropriate.

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