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Two children find an ancient books (paper, not digital). It described an ancient classroom - with real live flesh-and-blood teachers! They were so surprised! They were used to being taught in their own homes from robotic teachers.
Funny, this reminds me of an AP Language and Composition Test that I had today...(but shhhh I'm not allowed to talk about it for 2 days ;))
I don't think it's a good idea because, while slippery slope is a fundamental fallacy, it is more than likely that once technology begins to replace and simplify the comprehension prossess, students will try less to produce an equal (to now) amount of work. Obviously this negatively effects both society in the present and the future.
A moderate amount of technology is not dangerous, and rather beneficial: calculators (graphing or scientific), secure online grade reports, and projectors. Calculators are just about the only tool, however, that a student must actually use in a classroom. Technology like cell phones, PDA's, mp3 players, and other devices in a student's hands are actually detrimental to the learning process. They serve as a distraction for the student, and often his or her peers as well. As such, the student may learn only the rudiments of the lesson rather than grasping the concept. The student may learn that the force of gravity= G((Mm/r^2)), but fail to learn that objects in orbit are merely in freefall around a more massive body. Texting their friends in the class "ROTFLOL THE TEACH IS SO DUMMMMM!!!!" is a negative step in the education system.
Well, I'm in California, but if it's anything like the SAT's (also administered by the Collegeboard monopoly) they timed it so the East Coast takes them at the same time as the West Coast. That's why we took them about 5-6 weeks before our school actually ends: because the East Coasts' schools' year ends really soon.
Currently, technology is integrated into classrooms in the forms of power point slides or some e-learning lessons. It may be true that teachers can be more efficient in teaching with the availability of these technologies.
However, we must also consider the fact that NOT ALL TEACHERS ARE THAT EFFICIENT. Thus, with the help of these technologies, SOME of the teachers could just give us some ready notes and then present what is written on the notes in the form of power point slides during lesson time. In this case, students could just read the notes at home rather than coming to school and waste their time listening to SOME teachers giving out presentations that put the whole class to sleep.
We should go back to bare bones basic. Pencils, paper, listen to the teacher, all wear uniforms, stay quite during classes. Do the homework everyday. NO COMPUTERS<, NO CELL PHONES, and be grateful that we the idiots working hard to own a home are penalized by having to pay taxes so all illegal aliens' children are educated. We should send the bill for education to Mexico.
Children should know how to use technology before they graduate, because it is such a large part of our society. They should learn how to use all types of technology, because they will more than likely need it when they go into the real world and get a job.
As far as kids go technology shouldn't be integrated into the classroom. See your average kid in todays day and age spends a good portion of his/her day playing video games, watching tv, and surfing the web. You bring computers into the class room and kids begin to lose their need for having a thought process. Why read a book when there are websites that tell you everything you need to know about it?
Technology in the class room is only going to slow kids down, when things become easier the mind thinks slower.
I disagree because every classroom at my school has a Promethean board, but that doesn't make us lazy, it just aids us in some tasks. All technology isn't bad, it should just be used in moderation.
A virtual teacher lacks being human. If we turn into humans being taught by robots we start losing our human element.
If a child is brought up by a pack of wolves, it acts like a pack of wolves. If a child is taught all basic arithmetic and essential thought through a robot, it begins losing what makes it a human mentally.
I never said it stopped, I said it begins to stop. AKA slow down.
A study of 100,000 pupils in 31 countries around the world has concluded that using computers makes kids dumb. Avoiding PCs in the classroom and at home improved the literacy and numeracy of the children studied.
When things become easier, harder things can be accomplished. It frees up room in the brain for more complex things.
When things become easier you are no longer thinking very hard. When opposed to reading a book you can look at Sparknotes.com and have the whole book summed up in a short paragraph, why read the book?
As far as your complexity argument goes, it is nearly laughable. If opposed to doing my homework my mother does it for me, I now have free room in my brain for more complex things. Right? Wrong. Nothing has changed as far as my brain goes other than I didn't have to do my homework. The room I had for knowledge didn't fill up or empty in my not doing my homework. By not doing it I have promoted laziness, and with laziness comes a slower thought process.
our interpretation of my statement on complexity is different.
Having a calculator do simple math allows one to do more complex problems which build off of that simple math, faster and in reasonable time frames. Of course, in order to do the more complex problems you need to know how to do the simpler problems. when things become easier, your able to focus on harder things which build off of those things. Also, sparkNotes come in a physical form as well, if told to buy a book for a class at a bookstore; why buy the book when you can buy the spark notes? Because the book is more comprehensive, if you only need the sparknotes, either the sparknotes is a more effective form of presentation for information or the class is too easy. In which case why waste time on something you only need and want to know in order to pass a class? You might be able to get the entire book on a digital reader/computer as well, decreasing the weight you have to carry. Computers are simply more effective or provide access to what is.
When it comes towards the studies concluding "using computers makes kids dumb" i would ask how are they using computers. If its truly the case then one-lap-top for a child is apparently doing a dis-service to children http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Laptop_per_Child
When it comes towards the studies concluding "using computers makes kids dumb" i would ask how are they using computers.
They are using computers as they are meant to be used. To obtain information, but with a steady influx of information one begins to lose the ability to analyze.
Your whole second paragraph totally confused me, it was all over the place. If you could clarify it a little I'd appreciate it.
If I caught the jist of your Sparknotes being both online and physical argument: why buy a paper copy when you have the internet? That was only one example the examples are listless. Look at the search engine Google, almost any question you have it can answer for you. Without you needing to think past the question you have. As I stated before with a steady influx of straight raw information one begins to lose the ability to analyze. Just because I have lots of facts, doesn't make me intelligent.
The point in the study was to show that kids who had physical books in their house holds held a higher literacy than those without. Why? Computers are distracting, a child would rather rotate the screen 90 degrees rather than do homework.
Information is a crucial thing to have just to be able to analyze. You can never have too much. You can have bad data-mining tools and habits which don't allow you to find information you want and need. If your active in your intake of information, then your always analyzing; The problem isn't in the amount of information but in how people relate to it, take it in, etc. Active readers are the ones who read a book with a pen in hand, how often do you see that encouraged in school? sure they tell you to take notes, but its usually done according to some guide or for memorization ; thus all that results is data-mining for facts, not evaluation of the book. Most of education is regurgitation of facts, critical thinking is rarely called upon. If there is a lack of intelligence in schools, then perhaps they should start actually having students exercise their reasoning.
My apologies on my second paragraph, I was in a hurry. It basically said that complex problems can be made more manageable by having technology do the simple components. Using a calculator to find 25!= (25)(24)(23)(22)... is much easier and faster then by hand, and allows you to efficiently do more complicated stuff; stuff like 25! +24! +23!....+2 + 1 or R(theta) = sin(theta!) in a decent amount of time. I would much rather use a computer system to do a problem with many simple smaller component problems. It makes those simple problems easier, and allows you to focus on the more complex things.
I agree having lots of facts doesn't make you intelligent. The internet is great at giving you lots of facts, so are many books. The internet is better at it then books, so it should be preferred. The internet is also better then other things for raising intelligence, one merely has to visit the right sites. CreateDebate itself is a result of technology, and allows many to practice their argumentation in a way otherwise unavailable; it allows them to test their reasoning/intelligence as well. I bet it has a valuable place in some classrooms. My chemistry and physics classes used the internet for homework assignments. Doing such allowed for many benefits over normal pen and paper approaches. Instant grading/ feedback, no paper to keep track of and carry around, etc. examples of how technology can add to a class are numerous.
computers can be distracting. A good book can also be distracting. There has been numerous times I have started reading before a class, only to become so zoned into reading that I missed part of the class.
If a child would rather rotate the screen 90 degrees then do homework, they would probably rather do anything then homework. Computers allow lessons to become interactive, entertaining and tailored to a student. They allow homework/ learning to become something desired, rather then dreaded or a chore.
one lap top for a child allows for poor children in poor countries to have a education other wise unavailable. Its not the case that their doing a dis-service; but if that study you brought up holds true for all children they would be. Its not the case then that the study holds true for all children, so what is it that differentiates one group of kids from the other? The best answer I can think of is how they use the computer.
we should take full advantage of all the tools available to education. Is a chalkboard a bad idea? the Projector? More advance Technology, when properly implemented, will be as useful, if not more useful, then these old familiar tools which enhance education.
We should take full advantage of all the tools available to education.
Sure the tools that promote a healthy education. Tools that reduce the need of thought do not, that mainly includes computers.
Is a chalkboard a bad idea
What does a chalkboard have to do with integrating technology into the class room?
the Projector?
Well sure that is no problem, it is when the technology gets more complex that problems start surfacing.
You see when a child totally relies on Microsoft Office to correct any spelling, and grammatical errors the child begins to see a lack of need to know how to spell. Their literacy begins a steady decline, as when they misspell a word a nice convenient red line pops up under the word and they click on it and correct it with a click of the mouse.
When a kid lacks general knowledge of the language he/she speaks, they lack the ability to write. Penmanship drops as the average kid no longer knows the answer to the question : What is mightier than the sword?
The more advanced the technology is the worse it is for a mind in need of molding.
Computers allow for this debate, a thought intensive activity.
If there is a word you use often, you'll learn how to spell it with Spell Check; its a feedback mechanism. With Spell Check, If you don't use a word often and want to use it but forget how to spell it then you don't need to look it up but only give your best approximation. It saves time, and why remember something your rarely going to use? whats the value in it?
Chalkboards and projectors are older technologies which have been strongly integrated into the class room. They provide immense value. my argument was that all technology, when integrated properly, will likewise provide value.
The more advanced the technology is, the better the tools for molding minds.
Computers allow for this debate, a thought intensive activity.
The same way computers allow for video games a detrimental activity for thought.
If there is a word you use often, you'll learn how to spell it with Spell Check; its a feedback mechanism. With Spell Check, If you don't use a word often and want to use it but forget how to spell it then you don't need to look it up but only give your best approximation. It saves time, and why remember something your rarely going to use? whats the value in it?
If there is a word a child uses often he/she won't need spell check, the issue is when a child no longer worries about spelling and just has a computer fix it for him/her. Same goes with grammar, as computer programs become more and more intelligent they can fix your syntax with just a click. Not healthy for a developing mind.
The more advanced the technology is, the better the tools for molding minds.
Not necessarily. Put a robotic teacher in a classroom and the children begin developing via a robot. Have a child raised by monkeys, and he/she will mentally be a monkey.
Not all video games are bad. Some are used to stimulate the mind.
What does your statement have to do with the class room .... ?
I merely said that there are good and bag video games out there as far as mind stimulation goes, my saying that computers allow for video games was just showing Casper that his example could go both ways
Computers allow for this debate, a thought intensive activity..
Just the same as this computer has allowed for this thought intensive activity it could just the same be used for detrimental thought activities.
Yes, the term integrating means combining, technology is moving very fast, keeping kids up to date with it can only be a good thing. If it is being integrated I would think it is being used in tandem with more traditional methods.
If children are not being kept up to date with technology in one country, you can be sure, they will be in a different country, and I would guess that the latter would emerge eventually as a more technologically advanced country, given that its people understand it.
What would be most important I believe is to not let it take over from traditional methods but to aid and enhance.
I don't see the harm in using some technology in the classroom. I think it enhances learning when a teacher can graph a function in calculus and immediately have the graph on a projector screen. Or an English professor can pull up a poem or story on the board without wasting trees or time writing it on the board. However, technology shouldn't completely replace pen and paper. That's just absurd.