Are iSchools Really Envisioning the Future?

I believe that iSchools are not the remedy for broken school systems. Yes, it is cheaper. Yes, it is faster. No, it is not better. Do not get me wrong, technology can be a great way to teach students, but not every day in the classroom. Technology should not be used as a substitution. Here are my reasons:

1) CVS, more commonly known as Computer Vision Syndrome, is becoming more and more prevalent in today's society. You think I am joking, but I am not. Have you ever spent a lot of time typing up a paper or watching a movie on your laptop? When you take a break, do your eyes feel strained or tired? Well, that is a small sign of CVS. Recent research confirms that heavy computer use among children puts them at risk for early myopia. The prevalence among Americans has increased from 25 percent to 41.6 percent of the population over the past 30 years - an increase of more than 66 percent. Children are put at even a greater risk than adults for developing CVS. In 2009 the amount of time an average child devoted to entertainment media each day was over 7 hours. With these statistics, iSchool would only make things worse.

2) The increase in technology requires a substantial amount of energy. Although ischools save money, they do not save energy. One day Americans are going to realize that energy does not come from a bank teller. We can't get loans on gas or fossil fuels. When they are gone, they are gone. I believe that ischools are depending on something that has never been necessarily guaranteed to last. If something happened and the country had to ration out gas, schools would be completely helpless. 

Our generation is growing up in a technological era, where everything desires our attention and focus. iSchools need to see technology in the classroom for what it is: a great inclusion but a fallacious resolution. 

A Jar Full of Pennies

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Beth Day speak to us this past week. It is difficult to imagine that online schooling would provide so many opportunities to learn and to build relationships. I would have assumed that online charter schools weren't the best learning environments due to my own experience. Although it is great to be home with family and teach at the same time as Beth Day mentioned, I would be sad that my classroom online did not get to see each others' faces. There is something to be said about classroom bonding and the unity one feels when your whole class is joined together and acting like a family. My English class in high school was like a family. I could never picture an online classroom becoming like that, but perhaps I am wrong.

I was a bit overwhelmed by the video and audio presentation this week. I have two more years before I student teach so why do I need to know about this now? To be honest, I feel the only good thing that this lesson did was scare us enough for us to worry about it for the next two years. Although it was very helpful hearing the great tips for video taping ourselves, I know I am going to forget it in the next two years even before I begin to student teach. Again, it was great to be aware of what we are going to need to do, but I am not going to remember the details of what to do with the video and audio stuff.

An article I found was called "20 Ways to Wake Up Your Classroom," and in this article the author explained how to motivate your classroom (grades 3-5) with technology and other resources. One great idea was she said to cover each student's desk with plastic wrap and then let them practice math computation right there on their desk with dry erase markers. The only downfall I saw in this was if the students messed up their clothes, but if you let the parents know ahead of time so that they wore something they didn't care as much about, I think that would be fine. Another great idea was to display a picture on an overhead projector and have the students write a poem or passage about it as soon as they come into class. I thought if you did this every day, you could give students journals so that you aren't having all these loose papers around everywhere. One last great idea was called 'Mistaken Identity.' In this idea you would take a picture of your student ahead of time (receiving parental consent beforehand). Then, if you have a mobile lab cart, let your students use a laptop to insert their pictures into a program like Pixie. Teach kids how to edit their pictures by adding crazy hair, and weird colors and designs to their faces. Then, print them out for the next day and have your students write a biography or story with this new "character."

One thing I have been thinking about in terms of technology in the classroom is music. Last semester one of my college professors would play a different song every day 5 min before class. I loved coming into his classroom and hearing the song that he played. It not only woke me up for class, but it put a smile in my heart. Depending on the music you play, it would also help students to see that you as a teacher keep up with the trends of current music. I loved when my prof would play songs that I was hearing on the radio. I would think to myself, "Wow! He is really cool. I can't believe he knows this song and listens to it!" This is not to mean he played anything inappropriate because he certainly did not. But you never know how much you can relate to your students just by playing Toby Mac's newest hit or Train's "Hey, Soul Sister."

The Hidden Irrationality Behind Exams

 I think a big question we must first ask ourselves is what is considered student achievement? A student can obviously attain achievement on test scores and SAT scores. What is it that schools desire students to achieve? If test scores mark student achievement, I believe that technology will not change a student’s performance in school, but rather change which students perform better than others. Those that excel at test taking might do poorly on assignments and projects that rely heavily on technology. While on the other hand, students who are more hands on, experiential learners might agree that they do better than taking a written exam.

Student achievement seems a very broad and general category and could pertain to many different kinds of achievement. Sam Roberson’s article seems not to stress on how well students achieve in school but rather what kind of achievement that schools pursue. He addresses the issue of authentic learning by arguing that schools focus on a “broad but shallow catalogue of behaviors, skills, and knowledge sets, that for all practical purposes serve little prepare students for the future.” Are students really learning in the classroom? And if so, how do exams demonstrate the student’s full understanding of a topic if all they are doing is just rote memory? Roberson backs up his claim with an example from the Industrial Revolution: the assembly line; he illustrates the idea that authentic learning has been reduced to simply laws and formulae due to the assembly line. Understanding or thinking became separated from performing instead of thinking creatively in order to understand a concept. He states, “Rarely, if ever, are students oriented holistically to learning where they have the opportunity to learn in depth and with practical application a discipline or subject that would allow them to become anything remotely resembling a skilled and competent craftsman.”

So, I will ask you again: what is considered student achievement? Is student achievement a bunch of numbers on a test? Or is student achievement more than just rote memory? Perhaps student achievement involves a student’s full potential to be successful in the real world. If so, than yes, technology will improve student achievement. Schools must incorporate technology into the classroom in order to fully prepare their students for the world outside of school. However, like Sam Roberson declared, by “ignoring the demands of the world outside the school, schools are retreating into irrelevance rather than charging full face into the challenges and opportunities of the future.”