Nt1310 Unit 1 Assignment
Reason
Two events prodded me into writing this. The first was my involvement in formulating a technology plan for a local school. During this process I became increasingly concerned that while the school leaders were keen to bring in technology, and intuitively knew they should, they did not really know why. It was a kind of gut instinct.
The second event was an email I got from a teacher concerning my web site Math Open Reference. She wrote (I paraphrase): "Thank you so much! Now I have something to do with those laptops they gave me!". You can visualize the scene: a school decided to move technology into the classroom so it gave the teacher the computers. Again I wondered if this school really knew why they wanted the technology. In what
way, precisely, would the education be better?
So here they are. Ten fundamental reasons why I think technology is important in education. Hopefully, they can act as the rationale for technology plans in schools. If you disagree, or find things missing, my contact information is at the end.
In a typical high school a student has access to a teacher 40 minutes per day. That means she has access to that teacher 5% of her waking day, and even that time is shared with 25 classmates. She has access to the Internet 100% of the time. That's 20X better.
Technology is no substitute for an inspiring teacher. However, on-line materials are far more available. Twenty times more.
Using the "textbook plus classroom" approach, the places where learning can occur are limited. On the other hand, a wireless laptop has access to the teacher's course material and the entire Internet almost anywhere. This is also a vastly larger resource than can be practically carried on paper in a backpack.
Bottom line: information technology allows learning anywhere, anytime; not just in one particular classroom for forty minutes a day.
Interactive simulations and illustrations can produce a much greater depth of understanding of a concept. When virtual manipulatives are used in a classroom setting they can go far beyond chalk and talk. Using a projector, the teacher can conduct onscreen investigations and demonstrate concepts far more easily than with just words and arm-waving. For example see Subtended Angles.
Because the students have access to the same tools over the web, they can reinforce the ideas by experimenting with the simulations themselves, any time, any where.
Two events prodded me into writing this. The first was my involvement in formulating a technology plan for a local school. During this process I became increasingly concerned that while the school leaders were keen to bring in technology, and intuitively knew they should, they did not really know why. It was a kind of gut instinct.
The second event was an email I got from a teacher concerning my web site Math Open Reference. She wrote (I paraphrase): "Thank you so much! Now I have something to do with those laptops they gave me!". You can visualize the scene: a school decided to move technology into the classroom so it gave the teacher the computers. Again I wondered if this school really knew why they wanted the technology. In what
way, precisely, would the education be better?
So here they are. Ten fundamental reasons why I think technology is important in education. Hopefully, they can act as the rationale for technology plans in schools. If you disagree, or find things missing, my contact information is at the end.
In a typical high school a student has access to a teacher 40 minutes per day. That means she has access to that teacher 5% of her waking day, and even that time is shared with 25 classmates. She has access to the Internet 100% of the time. That's 20X better.
Technology is no substitute for an inspiring teacher. However, on-line materials are far more available. Twenty times more.
Using the "textbook plus classroom" approach, the places where learning can occur are limited. On the other hand, a wireless laptop has access to the teacher's course material and the entire Internet almost anywhere. This is also a vastly larger resource than can be practically carried on paper in a backpack.
Bottom line: information technology allows learning anywhere, anytime; not just in one particular classroom for forty minutes a day.
Interactive simulations and illustrations can produce a much greater depth of understanding of a concept. When virtual manipulatives are used in a classroom setting they can go far beyond chalk and talk. Using a projector, the teacher can conduct onscreen investigations and demonstrate concepts far more easily than with just words and arm-waving. For example see Subtended Angles.
Because the students have access to the same tools over the web, they can reinforce the ideas by experimenting with the simulations themselves, any time, any where.