He used the SMARTBoard. She typed her paper. He’s scanning his artwork.
Oooohh, a class that uses technology. It reminds me of the excitement on the Price Is Right when “A NEW CAR!” is announced as the prize. We hear things like this all the time. The excitement over “That class is doing a webquest” or “They are making a PowerPoint about whales.” Ahhh, typing kids are engaged kids, right? Ummmm…. are they?
I read a tweet today by @CoolCatTeacher on Twitter that said: “Tech in a classroom doesn’t improve learning any more than rubbing Einstein’s head makes you smarter. Interaction is key.” After I snickered at the thought of rubbing Einstein’s head, I started thinking about all the “flashiness” of technology and how it can appear to make the classroom come alive. But, it also made me think about the foundation. What’s important? What are they learning?
Why don’t we have the kind of excitement over learning that we have over flashy technology that kids might be using to just skim the surface of the content? Wouldn’t it be great if education got all excited about walking into a room and seeing kids collaborating, discussing, creating, and problem solving. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve heard excitement over “Oooh, their class is using PowerPoint to write reports.” Definitely way more than I hear, “The kids in that class are being challenged at their level and are really getting great at problem solving and collaborating.” We want a quick-service education. Fast learning. Packets of papers. Presentations cranked out in a day. Generated brochures in Publisher. Kids make stuff quick. They make, they print, but did they learn?
We need to think of technology as a tool…. like scissors, crayons, glue. It’s there to help us create. Sure, it’s an awesome tool that can and will enhance our classrooms, but only AFTER we have committed to a creative learning environment where kids innovate, solve, collaborate, and explore. Do we have a responsibility to be sure kids know HOW to use technology? Of course. But, knowing how to use all the technology in the world isn’t going to mean much if our kids cannot THINK. We have to make sure kids are digging deeper in their learning. If technology is a tool that will help them get there, great. If technology is just an afterthought to produce a quick fix to curriculum, think twice.
