Read this article and comment on your feelings.
What the iPad (and other technology) can’t replace in education
What the iPad (and other technology) can’t replace in education
By Valerie Strauss
This was written by Karim Kai Ani, founder of Mathalicious, which is rewriting the middle school math curriculum around real-world topics.
By Karim Kai Ani
A recent article in The New York Times explains how after investing $33 million in technology, a school district in Arizona has seen almost no improvement in test scores.
Duh.
It’s no surprise that we as a society have a kind of blind faith that technology is able to solve all of our problems. Yet while the iPad can and should replace textbooks, it can’t replace common sense.
Unfortunately that’s exactly what’s happening in education reform. We’re focused so much on the device that we’re ignoring what’s on it.
Take math. Students dislike it and perform badly in it. Each year they ask, “What does this mean?” and “When will I use this?”
And what’s our answer? A new platform. This is like reading a novel, hating it, and concluding it would be better on the Kindle. Students find the book disengaging and irrelevant, but instead of rewriting it, we simply reformat it.
So what can explain this? I’d argue there are a few factors:
Evaluating quality content is harder than evaluating quality technology.
Try this. Which is better: Connected Math or Everyday Math? How about: the iPhone/iOS or Android?
We often confuse the platform for the content itself. Houghton Mifflin made news when it announced that it was creating iPad versions of its textbooks, and a host of websites now promise students a “revolutionary” new way to access education.
Yet in each of these cases the material — the content that’s actually being taught — is exactly the same as its always been. The media may herald these as dramatic steps forward, but crtl-v is by definition not innovation. Hormel can design all the cans it wants but it’s still SPAM.
Much of the funding for education reform comes from large foundations, many of whom view their role as to push the envelope in public education.
Organizations such as NewSchools Venture Fund and the Gates Foundation tend to support initiatives like alternative teacher preparation programs, technology platforms and charter schools. Because their entrepreneurial emphasis is to reshape the future rather than build upon the present, there’s often an unavoidable disconnect between what teachers want today and what foundations want them to want tomorrow.
Ask a teacher what they’d rather have: a dynamic learning management system that tracks students by individual skill, or an engaging lesson on percents. Then ask what a foundation would rather fund.
(Incidentally, we were recently contacted by a school district which had been awarded a $30,000 grant to buy iPads but had no money leftover for content. It’s not the district’s fault: surely the grant was only for the tablets themselves. But if a funder is going to spend that much money on devices, wouldn’t it make sense to also ensure that the schools can put something good on them? There’s a reason Apple advertises apps: without the App Store the iPad is useless. Just ask HP.)
Just as there’s a disconnect between foundations and teachers, there’s often a disconnect between administrators and teachers as well. Teachers answer to principals who answer to the superintendent who answers to the school board, many of whom have never taught. When they say they want schools to look different, the easiest way to do that is to dress the schools up with projectors, interactive white boards, laptops, tablets, etc. School boards have elections and there’s no easier sound bite than “technology.”
As a country, we seem to care more about style than substance. Want proof? Two words: Jersey Shore .
Perhaps the most important factor, though, is the sixth one: we humans are very good at seeing only what we want to see, finding only what we’re looking for.
You believe the world is flat? You’ll find evidence for that.
You don’t believe in global warming? There’s a scientist somewhere who will back you up.
You think technology will fix education? The high school in my town is failing despite its laptop-for-every-student program, but that’s okay: try the next town over.
I’m sure The New York Times will be happy to reprint the same article next year … and the next … and the next.
Technology is great. I love my iPhone. It can do all sorts of things, but making me a better dancer isn’t one of them. Every day parents ask their kids, “What did you learn today?” It’s never “How did you learn it?” or “On what device did you learn it?” but always, “What?” Yet so long as the answer to that doesn’t change, neither will educational outcomes.
We need to stop pretending that technology can fix problems that aren’t technological in nature. Kids are bored. They don’t know why they’re learning what they’re learning. The solution isn’t asking the question better. The solution is asking a better question.
Follow The Answer Sheet every day by bookmarking http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet. And for admissions advice, college news and links to campus papers, please check out our Higher Education page. Bookmark it!
13 comments:
Amen. First of all, I like Spam. Pork shoulder and ham with enough salt to preserve your pancreas. And I do not like that Spam has been assigned a negative connotation on the internet. But back to the Washington Post article. It seems obvious. I recall a commercial years ago when an elderly couple was delighted to have found the image of a screaming monkey on their home computer, but that was all they could get the unit to do. Technology is transforming the classroom and I think it is a very good thing. Teachers have to be consulted on how to best integrate new methods or it will be a waste of time and money, not to mention the harm it will cause students. -Tom Forde
No doubt! School curriculums need to be evaluated and updated to address the needs of today’s students. As the author states, “kids are bored,” and attempts to upgrade education by pasting boring literature into laptops or kindles is not the solution, but a cosmetic change. As long as kids continue to read boring materials, engagement will be difficult to achieve, no matter what technology is used to support lessons.
As I’ve stated in other blogs, this is a problem that demands national attention. Recent news about repealing No Child Left Behind in favor of States’ adopting individual standards, testing and accountability programs points to the fact that the education system in America has major problems… There is a lot of controversy relating to this issue, but the national outcry is not about addressing academic content…
The challenge is great, as curriculums need to be addressed, technology has to be integrated into school classrooms, teachers need to be trained, support systems need to be in place for technology to work and finally the government/states need to figure out a fair system to evaluate school performance. Any ideas???
I am an advocate for incorporating technology into a lesson. But ONLY if the technology enhances the original lesson plan. I am not a supporter of transforming everything found in a classroom into technology.
"We often confuse the platform for the content itself" is very accurate and well-said. Reading Shakespeare from a book or on an iPad has no difference. The content of the lesson plans need to be changed... not the platform that assignments are read from. Shakespeare will most likely bore students out no matter where they read it from. Teachers need to change their lesson plans. It is the teacher's responsibility to take Shakespeare and make it fun and interesting. There is where technology comes in. The teacher can assign an online project for the students to do on a particular scene or play. Additionally, the teacher can have the students create their own Tableau Vivant on a piece of literature. I don't see the need for iPads for a school. As the article says, the iPads did not help the students in any way.
What needs to be changed is the creativity levels of many teachers. Students learn best from activities that are fun, educational, and engaging at the same time. An iPad won't teach this. It's necessary for teachers to be taught how to use technology such as blogs and websites to enhance lesson plans. A combination of solid lesson plans and activities using technology will be the plan to better our education system.
I thought this article made some really great points. As beneficial as technology can be to our students' learning experiences, we as educators need to make sure that technology will provide more benefits than the methods we were previously using. Technology is NOT cheap, as we all know, so before our districts start spending thousands, sometimes millions, of dollars on iPads and laptops, among other things, let's be sure that it is really worth it. Technology is not the solution to all of the problems surrounding education. While some forms of technology are obviously very beneficial to the learning experience, like smartboards, not everything will be as revolutionary. I think that if teachers are finding that their students are struggling in a particular area, they should also examine their methods of teaching, and maybe tweak these to see a difference. Technology can do amazing things, but it cannot do the teaching for us and it certainly cannot single-handedly save our students from failing.
The article addresses the issues many schools currently face, the implementation and allure of technology without student improvement. Ani makes several accurate, poignant remarks about education that will make you think about what it is we are teaching and what it is we should be teaching. Are we obsessively trying to incoporate technology in our schools and forgetting why we have that technology and when it is appropriate to use it? It's not the answer for everything. We need to acknowledge that. The article is a quick and enjoyable read-especially the reference to Jersey Shore.
I could not agree more with this article. Technology does not replace teachers, or academics. I 100% believe that technology can be a great addition to a classroom; however, it is not a replacement for a teacher, or for lesson plans. Educators need to be taught the benefits of technology and how they can use it to enhance their lesson plans and help their students. It is important to learn how to integrate new technology and programs into the classrooms. It is also essential that educators assess their teaching methods and find out where their students are struggling. Recognize the fact that technology is not a replacement for teaching is crucial, and it is also beneficial for educators to implement some degree of technology in their classrooms.
From my viewpoint, I think a lot of emphasis is placed on test scores. So, when the questions arise about increased scores, there is often negativity concerning new ideas and their implementation.
Technology has become a huge part of my life. I have learned to balance using my puter with paper books. I teach elementary school and we do a lot online. There's no getting around it, esp. for taking attendance. More and more schools are changing paper docs over to web designed programs for purposes such as this.
I couldn't teach as well without technology. Even when there are glitches and it doesn't work out like I imagined, I turn to plan B. There will always be a plan B...and C. I try to be flexible to use what is available to me.
In my mind, some have lost sight of the morals and implementations of educating others. Technology helps with differentiation and reading, too. I find my students are less bored when I use an iPad or such with them for teaching purposes. It lets me do things I couldn't do on paper.
For example, I use it for a schedule with students who need visuals during transition times. It helps make the day go more smoothly and they are happier, too.
This is my experience in the classroom with my students.
Laurel
I thought this article had brought up some very relevant and interesting topics that really should be considered in our education system. I agree that technology is incredibly beneficial and interactive and students certainly love using it, but the most important thing is the content with which the technology is used. I related this article to my own personal experience with ipads in the school system. As I am in special education and work with many children who have severe difficulty expressing themselves through language, many of them have ipads they carry with them. It is a wonderful device for them and they use a program called Proloque 2 Go that helps them communicate to other whatever they may want to say. It is a wonderful thing and I have received training on how to use the program. This goes to show that when the content or software on a device is appropriate, the device becomes absolutely an undeniably beneficial to a student's learning. I think that schools need to make sure they are not thinking technology devices on their own will solve all of their problems, but really need to focus on how a device could enhance it based on its features.
Absolutely, technology can help but not solve the problems in education
Absolutely, technology can help but not solve the problems in education. Technology is a tool, is a how, is very educational-useful tool, but never can solve the problems. It hasn’t the power to do it. I think the problems of education are going to be always there. There is not a simple solution. There are social, familiar, personal, and cultural factors that play a big educational role, which education can not solve.
There are another can of instances that play a big role, and maybe are letting education problems only to schools, what is not fair, but education problems is something that transcend the school environment, so government, society, private sector, and the family need to play their educational role in and for education, searching to work to solve the problem, that technology can not solve by itself, but as a tool sure can help. Jose
Well said. Karim Kai Ani's response to the media's coverage of innovating education through gadget illustrates how they are completely missing the point. Gadgets alone will not save the educational sector, innovative teachers will. We need to address the age old disconnects in education, such as making math real to students. That is not to say that there is not a role for gadget and technology in education. We just need to acknowledge its role, rather than label it a savior or type of reform in itself.
Well said! This article is clear and gets right to the point. Just because technology is getting bigger and better does not mean that our nation's test scores are. As a Special Ed major I support technology in our schools mainly because I know that the IPad offers some great apps for students with autism. Apps that truly help them live a better life. However, this is not to say that all technology in schools is this helpful. Students still need to be taught in order for technology to work. So why not use the $30,00 for IPads to invest in some teacher training workshops? Or teacher conferences? Or use it toward tuition so a teacher can earn their masters degree? The bottom line is no technology can take the place of a good, hard working, smart and dedicated teacher, so why don't we start there?
Yes, the best intentions do not always lead to the best results. This article makes very valid points, technology can't fix education on it's own.
The author remarks "Evaluating quality content is harder than evaluating quality technology" This can be very true, in some cases it might be easier to change technology.
Current and future educators need to keep in mind that technology should be used to enhance the curriculum when appropriate.
Using untested technology without proper preparation can give technology a bad name! There is definitely a need to keep the balance and constantly evaluate content and technology and how they compliment each other.
This article is well put. Technology shouldn't be the end all 'fix-it' for a classroom, and as user VBM mentioned, a cosmetic fix. As educators we must get to the root of the problem. If students are bored, we cannot just incorporate technology and kiss the problem away, chances are that is not the root of the problem. Curriculum and content has not changed much over the past few decades, and perhaps has only gotten stricter on teachers for teaching to a test. However, changing a lesson and changing some content to better cater to the student's and their own interests may, in fact, make the lesson much more interesting to them - so they won't be 'bored'. Incorporating technology ONCE a lesson has been tweaked could potentially be a solution, but technology alone cannot fix this problem. After all, technology is only 'new and innovative' for a short period of time before it becomes obsolete, so it would be a better solution to integrate technology only one the quality of the lesson has become much more appealing to our students.
Post a Comment