Comments on: More than the 3 R’s?

By: Wesley Fryer

Wesley Fryer — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 20:17:58 +0000

I agree with you Robert, in that we don’t want to demonize or otherwise put down teachers who aren’t using digital tools as being “bad teachers” or using “bad methods.” The best teachers I had growing up weren’t great because they used the technology of the day, which was the filmstrip projector and the overhead projector. (Maybe a 16mm film from time to time.) That said, however, I don’t think we can permit our schools to retain 19th century instructional models on a broad basis. We have faith in the traditional, teacher lecture model of education because we are so steeped in it. Most people today don’t have extensive experiences with blended learning, even if they are young. So I think we need to be looking for the right tools that create the sort of learning interactions we want in educational contexts. You are correct that sometimes, the best environment involves zero electronic/digital tool use. I think generally, however, blending our learning with different tools can produce the best options for learning.

By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 17:51:23 +0000

Wes, I agree with the main point of your post here– that the “Three R’s” are a necessary but not sufficient set of skills for the modern student — but I disagree with the sentiment here that old = bad and new = good. (For example, using phrase “19th century learning environments” as referring in and of itself something bad in the article, and “21st century classroom” in the comment above as inherently positive.) The mere presence of high technology in a classroom does not imply anything about the quality of learning that’s going on, nor does its absence.

Just the fact that the teacher to whom you referred was using an overhead projector, and nothing more, doesn’t mean that his/her teaching would be improved by something more modern. It may well not have been. I taught a precalculus class a week or so ago where we made good use of the overhead, drawing the data plot on one slide and then overlaying the graph of the line of best fit on another. The extent and type of technology used in a classroom must be a function of what works best. There can be situations where having no electronic (or even electrical) technology around provides the optimum environment for learning. You just never know — it has to be the teacher’s call, based on what s/he has learned about the students.

By: patricecglantz

patricecglantz — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 07:03:47 +0000

Concentrate on the kids, their thinking, communicating,knowledge

By: patricecglantz

patricecglantz — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 06:53:01 +0000

The basic need is to make the parents aware about it.

By: Val Paley

Val Paley — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 03:17:08 +0000

I agree whole heartedly. It saddens and infuriates me that education is so very slow. And the days I am fed up are the days when I fall back into the old ways. No, mine is not a 21st century classroom, but at least I am trying to move in that direction. But I am rebuffed over and over, even by the kids who have ‘old school’ expectations. We are blogging, we are podcasting, we are using technology in our classroom but these are still incidentals. They make for a great day or week but I still haven’t really figured out how to integrate. How to make it seamless to use technology, how to be more of an encourager and less of a (strike out dragon lady)
traditionalist. There is too much talk of new curriculum, assessment, rubrics, reporting, accountability, testing. Yes, all of these have their place but we need to be concentrating on the kids, their thinking, communicating, interests, knowledge. Now the emphasis is on oral language, speaking. But what about listening with purpose. Thanks for a forum to vent. Enjoy your blog. Oh, and the addition to the Bloom’s Taxonomy (create) makes ever so much sense. val