Jan
27
Problems with Educational Access?
January 27, 2008 | |
Is there really a problem with educational access? If so, what can we do about it?
There are problems with educational access. The most obvious problem lies with getting everyone on board when it comes to the effectiveness of technology in reaching a generation growing up with it from the time they were born.
Teachers are leaders in the classroom. Teachers in a computer lab, for the most part, are followers in the classroom. Students know more than most teachers and that divide has to shorten. The way for it to shorten is through the effective training of teachers on the benefits of utilizing more technology in the classroom. The problem with that is the development of technology falls behind the TEST at the end of the year. There are not questions on technology on the test. Students are not taking the test on the computer. The majority of focus for teachers is how to get test scores to go up. If they try to incorporate technology into the classroom and it fails, they have wasted precious class time.
I do not believe teachers are seeing effective ways to utilize technology. I do not believe they are being trained properly to see the benefits outweigh any negative, preconceived ideas they have about technology.
Teachers are responsible for so much every single day in the classroom. They quickly see through the irrelevant, wasteful things that, sometimes, they put technology into that file (rather hastily) because it is not given to them in an effective manner. Teachers feel if the trainer can not present it with efficiency, then how will they be able to do it with thirty students waiting impatiently.
Believe me, if teachers see how technology will help make their lives easier and help students be more prepared, they will utilize technology to the nth degree. The problem as I see it is the training of teachers effectively. Once that can occur, I believe teachers will be on board and then we will see what kind of difference technology can make in the everyday classroom.
Comments
2 Comments so far
I agree with you so much on this. There is just not enough instructional time to risk trying something new. I tried a new curriculum this year (Carnegie Learning) that has the kids in the computer lab 2 days a week working on an algebra program (CAL, I guess you’d call it). The 3 days a week in the classroom are just not enough. The students do learn a lot in the lab, they need the classroom to put the understanding and depth behind what they do on the computers and there is just not enough time to do both. I am VERY worried that I will at the current rate have only half the Algebra I content done by the end of the year! Some people have commented that it is better to cover less content more thoroughly, but they won’t have to try to teach Algebra II to a group of kids who have no idea what to do with exponents and have not a clue how to add polynomials (two chapters I don’t think I will get to).
I agree that students definitely know more than I do. Hopefully, working through this class and corresponding with educators as yourself, I will learn a great deal that I can take back to my classroom.
Another point, I agree on is that too much emphasis is placed upon testing at the end of the year. Many teachers feel they can not deviate from their tried and true methods of instruction. Unfortunately, the ones who suffer are the students. Technology can open up new worlds for them.