America is behind on technology legislation in education.
When Dr. Bonk said this, I wasn't entirely sure it was true. When reading his book, I came across a quote he used from an article by Wallis and Steptoe:
"American schools aren't exactly frozen in time, but considering the pace of change in other areas of life, our public schools tend to feel like throwbacks. Kids spend too much of the day as their great-grandparents once did: sitting in rows, listening to teachers lecture, scribbling out notes by hand, reading from textbooks that are out of date by the time they are printed. A yawning chasm (with emphasis on yawning) separates the world inside the schoolhouse from the world outside." (Bonk, 2009).
As harsh as that sounds, there is some truth to it. Here we are, the United States, the place where people flock to have better lives, and we are behind in something that will definitely be needed in the future. Something that is needed by the most important and valuable people who inhabit this country, our children. We have to prepare students for the world and its many changes. Effective technology in the classroom is a way for us to do that. Technology in the classroom will help us all develop into 21st century learners.
As I thought about the classrooms I have been in recently, I noticed that the quote is not completely accurate. The students actually sit in groups and learn from each other, not just the teacher. The students work and learn cooperatively, no longer is learning passive. Then I thought about access and how only having a class set of iPads for an entire school is not enough. This may be why we are behind in technology compared to other places. We are a country wanting equality for our students and maybe we won't advance until we can provide the same technological educational opportunities for ALL students. We also have these little things called laws, but I digress.
The bottom line: I’m not taking a side, I just see where both Dr. Bonk and our education system are coming from. We all want what is best for every student and to provide them with the education and technology they need to function in the 21st century. It's not going to be easy, but in order for us (teachers and the public) to do that, give our students the winning education they deserve, we have to step up our game.
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I completely agree. It's complex! Luckily, Meredith is preparing us to go out there and handle all things- the great and the inadequacies- in the education system. I think the change to technology rich classrooms is coming, but it's expensive! We need to step up our game- and reach in our wallets too. Even with free and open source, the tools with which to gain access are expensive. Everyone loves to here that, huh?
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon, I found the comparison to other countries to be one of the more interesting aspects of Bonk's talk and his book. I think he said they are implementing technology a lot more in some Asian countries. America is really behind, especially at the K-12 level. We are learning how to use a smart board, but some teachers I've talked to can't even show students a photo on the computer because the machine is just so slow. It will be interesting to see how much we actually use the technology we learn about.
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