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Jen Byrne, a 6th grade teacher in Jefferson County, Colorado, has written a terrific piece that examines the need to enhance traditional learning methods with technology that kids embrace. She calls it "Today's Language," and I couldn't agree with her more.
Today’s Language
By Jen Byrne
February, 2008
In today’s over-stimulated world, is it possible that we are losing our students because they are under-stimulated? Consider the 21st century world compared to the 21st century classroom. Outside our classrooms, students are surrounded by entertainment, communication, and knowledge, all in technological, easy to use - and carry - mediums. The most common medium for learning in our schools? Still paper and pencil. I’ll be the first to say that there is a time and place for basic skills, but perhaps there is a better way to accomplish the same goal.
Students today are used to having vast amounts of knowledge at their fingertips… until they walk into our schools and find their world off limits.
On the most basic level, we are doing a disservice by not having them on computers on a regular basis. Unfortunately, for many teachers that is an impossibility, given computer availability. Students need to be learning keyboarding early on in order to make technology accessible at a pace that is reasonable. It would be like asking kids to read without helping them become fluent. How agonizing is it for our students to get on a computer only to find that it takes them forever to actually type anything useful? We must make the tools efficient in order for them to be used.
Research skills must also be taught, and the earlier the better. With the vast amounts of information available in the cyber world, what student would rather go to the library and read an encyclopedia? More to the point, how many could gather as much information from books as they could from the multitude of sites with information on the same topic? Unfortunately, our libraries also fall behind in up-to-date information due to limited financial resources. Even if we don’t venture online, our students very often get out of school with no idea of all the capabilities basic programs have, such as word processors, spreadsheets, basic photo editing, or Power Point.
What about iPods? I know what you’re thinking, and no, I don’t want them listening to their music instead of working. Would I love a class set to work with, however? You bet I would! Think about the students who miss a day; they could benefit from hearing a podcast of class, or a short summary of topics covered. How about creating study guides for students to listen to before tests? How much more could a language student learn by hearing and repeating phrases if they could also have access to that outside of class time? Lessons from other teachers, and/or schools, could be pulled in to support things we’re learning in our rooms. Cross-curricular studies, anyone?
Where do I think I could get the most bang for my buck? Smart Boards! Many states have begun to use these extensively in their classrooms. The white board becomes an actual tool that we can manipulate in front of our students, allowing us to teach up front and include technology. No longer does the teacher have to hide behind a laptop somewhere, or rely on a slideshow with links to websites or videos. We now have the capability to open tools, minimize them, or save them to our desktop and access them with the touch of a finger. Plus, we can save the screens to our computer. This means that we can pull up our notes and pick up right where we left off. These same notes would also be quite easily uploaded onto a class website to be viewed from home, or printed for Special Education students who need the extra support.
While this all sounds exciting to me, and would surely grab the attention of the students, there is one catch. MONEY! New schools seem to be investing heavily in these tools with their money to rebuild, but what about the rest of us?
Our students grow up in a world where we turn to technology for many things, and yet deny this in our schools. We know that they need these skills to flourish later in life, yet we don’t supply these tools for anything more than entertainment. These devices have so much academic potential. Give me the state tests if you must, but give me the tools to help guarantee success beyond our assessments.
I agree that many of us over-stimulate ourselves daily with technological advances, but we also know that the brains of our students come wired to work well that way. If we want to reach them, we must start using their language!
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