Week+5+Discussion+5306

My week 5 significant quote is from "Who's in Control of the Technology-Integrated School?". Betsy Price writes, "Large computer labs for general use will slowly disappear.... This arrangement was also satisfactory when teaching students the mechanics of how to use the computer--how to use the keyboard, surf the Internet, and learn word processing. Those mechanics are now frequently mastered before a student comes to school, so this arrangement isn't as necessary; even worse, it is not effective for doing activities that teach concepts and build academic skills. This practice may dominate present practices, but it shouldn't."( p. 53)

Computers need to be //in the classrooms,// preferably, one for each student. They should be an integrated part of daily learning. Right now, most schools have computer labs which are either in-use by the technology education classes, or you have to plan weeks to months in advance just to reserve. I know we have wireless laptop carts, but I've never used them. I asked about them just before I planned a technology-based project that we needed the computers for. One of the teachers I asked said, "They're so slow. It takes forever for the kids to get online. Sometimes the teacher who used it before you didn't make sure they were plugged-in to recharge." So, right then I decided to book a computer lab instead. I was lucky in that there was one left. It went okay, but sometimes students couldn't get online and it still took a long time. I am anxious to get feedback from the students to see how they felt about it.

I just think they if teachers are expected to "thread computer use into group projects, whole-class demos, individual tutoring, classroom management, and alternative assessment and testing along with the traditional teaching method of lecturing, reading, and hands-on activities and experiments"(p. 53), then we need to have the tools to do that. Students need to have access to technology where most of the learning takes place--in our classrooms, and teachers need training on how to **DO ALL OF THAT STUFF!!!** I don't have one computer in my classroom designed for student use and have had very little worthwhile training to implement the technology we do have. I have heard we are getting computers in our classrooms soon, but who knows when? I know money is an issue. Maybe since the state legislature designed a Long-Range Technology Plan for schools to follow, maybe they can come up with a plan to finance it so that we can achieve those goals and truly meet the needs of the 21st Century Learner. Hmmm....maybe......legalize gambling?

Works Cited: Price, Betsy (2005, September). Who's in Control of the Technology-Integrated School. Principal Leadership, 53.