Although I have yet to see any of the film you reviewed today, I must respond to your article “Growing Up Online’: A dumb primer for clueless parents”.
A friend warned me about my cooperation with the filmmakers, “You have no idea what they are going to use, no matter what you say they can cut it any way they want.” Judging from reviews such as yours and others I’ve seen, I should have held his admonition in higher regard. However, I honestly think that technology is the single greatest development in any one industry since the wheel was introduced to transportation. Any history teacher who thinks that students learn more when they are more engaged with historical material would agree with me. Furthermore, any teacher or parent who thinks that more writing and collaboration helps students learn would agree with me also.
To dismiss a data projector as a “modern-day equivalent of the overhead projector” reveals either a lack of imagination or at the very least a lack of experience with the tools available to the modern teacher. Can an overhead projector show Renaissance Paintings in high resolution definition in order to facilitate a discussion regarding the manner in which themes of the period are reflected in its art? Can it help students compare various forms of propaganda with posters produced by the British government in World War I, Nazi party postcards from the 1930s and the famous “Daisy” TV commercial from LBJ’s 1964 campaign? Can an overhead projector help students explore the manner in which the culture and slang of popular African-American music of the 1890s parallels the 1990s? No, but a data projector can display artwork of African American sheet music from a collection at the Library of Congress’s American Memory site and compare the lyrics with modern rap music.
Many claim that the media teachers bring into the classroom talk is nothing more than bells, whistles and entertainment, and they may be correct. But when this media is in the hands of professional educators, it becomes the raw material of powerful learning experiences.
I guess that much of my hour-long interview ended up on the cutting room floor so viewers are left with the impression that I see no problem with students cheating. Are you aware that the same tools that make it easy for students to “steal” on the internet are the same exact tools that make it so easy for teachers to catch them? Yes, I do want students to have experience finding, evaluating and critically thinking about information. It is a skill more applicable to their real lives in the real world. How many professions insist on denying resources to their workers when they are doing their job?
Sure if I am producing a film, I want the screenplay to be original. But if I am defending a copyright infringement, I want my lawyer to have read dozens of other briefs and legal arguments before we walk into court. Do you want your doctor to “cheat” and use some other doctor’s medical procedures if they have been proven successful?
The truth is that teachers have to design assignments and projects that are not susceptible to plagiarism. If you ask students to “do a report on…” what can you expect?
The proper role of technology in education is a complex addition to the intricate science of how people learn. Its application to the classroom and learning experience of students presents untold benefits. However, the paucity of informed discourse regarding technology’s use not only allows a number of shabby schools to unjustly claim they are “tech-savvy”, it prevents us from truly taking advantage of it.
In the end, we agree, “where’s the research?” I’m beginning to fear that after tonight I will share your lament “I expect more from Frontline”.
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Succinctly stated Mr. Maher. You wrote, “However, I honestly think that technology is the single greatest development in any one industry since the wheel was introduced to transportation” and you are absolutely correct. Technology is driving educational improvement to levels unseen in the past.
Our pre-service education students embrace technology in the classroom and they understand the appropriate applications of such technology for the enhancement of the field.
Perhaps Frontline should reconsider what they left out.
I loved what you said about cheating. And what you say here about creating assignments that prevent plagiarism is so true and it’s advice that’s not followed often enough.
And this is so true:
“The proper role of technology in education is a complex addition to the intricate science of how people learn. Its application to the classroom and learning experience of students presents untold benefits. However, the paucity of informed discourse regarding technology’s use not only allows a number of shabby schools to unjustly claim they are “tech-savvy”, it prevents us from truly taking advantage of it.”
I’m presenting next week on what we’re calling Fear 2.0 and what you say here is part of it. I think technology is often cast as this scary and bad thing and so people write it off or allow it in their classes because they feel they have to. And that prevents them from thinking creatively about how to use it. And I’d say that’s true not just of educators, but also of some of the manufacturers and software developers out there.
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Thanks Dr. Curran and Laura – take a look at what John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems said at Forbes.com the day after the program was aired.
“Traditional education has been built on the basic premise that information is scarce.” …”In this next phase, where information is available in real time to any device, in any mode, it won’t be the lack of information but how quickly educators and students can sort it, analyze it and use it.”
This is why we can no longer assign lessons that require memorization and fact recitation. Although some may argue that those are still valuable skills, we will cheat students if we spend too much time exercising them.
It may help to remember though that as we continue to advocate for a system of education that is valid for the lives of our students, many people have a difficult time accepting the fact that the schools that made them successful aren’t the schools that will make their children successful.
Take a look at Chambers column, he warns us “We might even need to explore some things that make us uncomfortable”.
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