Thanks,
Dr. Pratt
Friday, May 16, 2008
Response to Cuban Article
Click on the link to the right under week 2 titled: Cuban Article. After reading the article by Larry Cuban, what is your reaction? How can you become a leader using technology and in the best ways to support student learning amid these obstacles?
(in order to post your response, simply click on the word "comment". Then type in your response. There is no need to sign up in order to post your comment, just select Name/URL and type in your name before publishing.)
Thanks,
Dr. Pratt
Thanks,
Dr. Pratt
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8 comments:
Test by Agnieszka :)
Wow, what an interesting article! *so much information to look at. First of all, I believe that this is a world of technology. Everywhere you go, everywhere you look, people are using technology..People using cell phones, IPODS, Palm Pilots and more...Well..why not use technology as an educational tool in the classrooms??
From reading this artice, I never knew how many issues teacher's faced with using computers in the classroom..Some issues are :It is expensive to use, they use computers far MORE at home than at school, and the school cannot afford on-site technical support if something goes wrong!
What is wrong with this picture?
It also said that MOST teachers believe that computers in school improve both teaching and learning.
I know there has to be some way to get around these issues teacher's have. There are some ways of solving these issues. Involve the state and federal to HELP OUT...Let them know how important it is to use technology in the classroom.
As a leader, instead of talking about the issues computers cause, I would DO something about it..I would contact the state and federal and see if they can help our school financially.. I would also explain the importance of using technology in the classroom.As difficult as it might be, I will be one of the cheerleaders who will go down that bumpy road.
*If teachers aren't going to usee technology, how will students learn?? By looking at movies, reading their textbooks all day? ...
Just a question to ponder... :)
This article had some really great points. I thought more than two out of ten teachers used computers in the classroom on a daily basis. That really amazes me! I know schools offer training. If teachers want to keep the attention of the students something needs to be done. Teachers need to get the training necessary to make students interested in the subject they are trying to teach. Student are no longer interested in looking at books and listening to a teacher ramble on for an hour. As far as technical support I was just reading a couple hours ago about new types of tech. support. Instead of having someone come in a take care of a problem the teacher accepts an email, clicks the links that tech support sends, and gives permission for the tech. support person to access and fix the computer without ever coming to the school. There are so many great programs available for teachers and they need to take advantage of them before they are taken from everyone. Use them or lose them.
Sounds to me that that as new teachers, we are entering a rather difficult arena. Not that education was ever an easy arena, but the development (and I should add, continuously accelerating one) of electronic technology has added another difficult aspect to today’s education.
I tried to imagine myself already teaching, and I know that my use of the technology will in the great measure depend on the way the school is equipped, how well the equipment is maintained, and what kind of support will I have. Our job market will not allow us to pick and choose too much ;o), and we might have to do our best with what we have…and that could end up to be very little. Regardless of how wonderful our technological preparation might be, if the entire teaching body refuses the technological advancements, we might feel overwhelmed and eventually give up to fight them. I hope that will not be the case for us, but I can surely understand that despite the best of efforts, even the best meaning teachers find themselves overwhelmed and cornered.
The technologically well-equipped schools seem to face another set of problems. Not all of them can afford to hire a professional to keep the equipment up-to-date, and well running. One has to agree that sometimes technology becomes obsolete within a couple of years (and the speed is accelerating), and once you learn a system, the newer one is almost on the making, or already in use. Every striving corporation has a technology department, and in my opinion, so should each school. Teachers have so much to think of, and having a woman or man that would help us with the technical support, would allow us to be even more efficient.
I agree with the authors that backing away now would cause even more troubles for education in the future. After all, from what we have read, an education seems to have the widest technological gap, and if we don’t try to ketch up now, the gap will only widen.
This article wasn't exactly surprising to me. I think most people know that teachers tend to use computers and technology more at home than in the classroom. However, there are some reasons this is so. I think a teacher's past also has something to do with this decision though. If a teacher has been teaching for 30 years without technology, that change is difficult to make, even if he/she uses technology at home. Fortunately for us, we are learning all of this now so that we will be somewhat prepared for this. We have never taught before and so can incorporate it from the beginning. And yes, teachers have tons of work to do, which might deter them from technology. However, if used correctly and efficiently technology can really help to lighten the load and may also be more effective for the students. My biggest concern is maintenance. Since many schools cannot afford it all the time, that means the teachers and staff will be responsible for it. Also, I am leery about using technology too often because so many things can go wrong with it no matter how well you know the technology. I suppose being comfortable depends on experience and realizing that technology is usually quite reliable. But I will always have a backup plan in case the power goes out!
This article was an eye opener. It is amazing that so many teachers do not use technology in their classrooms. I know a teacher who works at the elementary school I went to. I asked her if she used powerpoint or other similar technology resources in her classroom and she said no, she doesn't know how to really do anything on a computer. She said the most she can do is use Microsoft word and even then she spaces 5 times for an indent. This amazed me, so I asked if any other teachers in the building using technology. She said only two other teachers used powerpoint. I know there are at least 20 teachers in that building, 1/10 of those teachers are actually exposing there students to technology. I think a lot of it has to do with teachers teaching how they were taught. I think about how I am going to teach using technology. Before taking this class I probably would not have used a lot of technology because I did not truly see the importance of it. Now I see how useful and helpful it can be and I am going to go my best to apply my knowledge of technology into my own classroom someday.
I hope to become a leader in using technology someday by using it in my classroom and showing the importance of it. I hope to also reach out to my fellow collegues and help them integrate technology into the classroom.
This article shows that as new incoming teachers we will probably have an advantage on teachers that have been teaching longer than use. We will have this class under our belt and we will also have a lot of experience with technology. In almost every class we use technology in some way or another. Not using technology would be silly because it is used so much by the students at their house that they are used to it. As long as use as a teacher can find ways to use it effectively then we will be right where we want to be.
On the other hand I do have to agree with the writer when they mention about the computers not working. I remember going to the computer lab a lot as a elementary student and then we go there things wouldn’t work. It was very aggregating for the teacher, but it just made the class get quite loud and unruly. This problem does make the teacher think twice about using the computer lab again.
So I think that they came up with a great idea of getting funding to have someone who is there to work and help on the computers whenever they are needed. The funding would help many schools in maybe encouraging teachers to use the technology in their classroom. The only question I have is if they are going to get funding for technology what are they taking the funding from?
My my my, I thought I was upset by the last article; this one has basically solidified my lost hope for this nation. I am happy to see my classmates have had such a wonderful time reading these articles. Basically, I just read about how there are so many great things you can do with technology, which I agree with whole-heatedly, but there isn't funding for training, maintenance, or time to incorporate technology in the school system. I agree, with the many tasks asked of us as teachers, it is going to be extremely difficult to remain on top of everything we need to. We have state standards, No Child Left Behind, multiple intelligences; the list really goes on for a while (probably much longer than my current scope of the profession). It is difficult enough to try to effectively teach a classroom filled to the brim with students let alone have the energy to try to incorporate a tool such as technology that may seem incredibly foreign to you. This is why we must rely on our government to supply us with the funding to train our staff. They must provide the funding to decrease class sizes by increasing school space and teacher capacity within a school. Really, what we ask of our government could never really happen. We are so far in debt to the point of absurdity. It's like saying we are going to create some money to fund us. It is ridiculous. We have really put ourselves in a pickle. It is going to be a very sour one to take as well. It is just very frustrating to read and to know that we are receiving the "funding" but with all the dinosaurs out there who are afraid to get their hands dirty for the sake of improving student education (you know, that thing they get paid for) it is hard to move past the stone age. I am going to try my best to inspire my colleagues to use technology in the classroom. This will have to be handled very carefully because I don't want to feel threatened and shut me down or single me out.
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