NYT article: Schools drop laptop programs

Wed May 9 01:04:18 CST 2007

Yes, the historical perspective sheds a great deal of light on the dynamics
of technology in schools -- the interplay of morphogenesis (in this case the
introduction ICT and all its affordances in schools) and morphogenesis (an
institution's (schooling) tendency to resist change in form and structure).

Today, when technology and society are changing schools and universities
need to recognize that they are preparing students for jobs that don't exist
today in which technologies that today aren't imagined will be integral.
That indicates that teachers and schools need to learn to be much more agile
with the integration of new technologies as well as teaching students to be
adaptive and continuous learners, to keep up with technology, knowledge,
social change, etc. Of course, learning technologies are a huge investment
and public institutions need to be strategic in how the appraise and adopt
technologies--but simply decrying that technologies don't fit with the
institution of schools is obviously not the solution.  I note that the
Institute of the Future / Knowledge Works Foundations Map of the Future
Force Affecting Education predicts a significant change in the institution
of schooling (e.g., unbundled education; participatory pedagogy) (
http://www.kwfdn.org/map/map.asp). These changes are driven, of course, in
part by the dominant model of 1:1 computing -- outside of schools.

Thanks for your posts.
Valerie

On 5/8/07, Rory McGreal <rory at athabascau.ca> wrote:
>
>  Valerie,
>
> In the 1820's in Ontario Canada, there was a Teacher's Association
> resolution condemning slates use in schools. The teachers were concerned
> that the slates were expensive and that students no longer knew how to roll
> birch bark for writing on.  Also, I remember when in school in the 50s, in
> England, the teachers would not let us use ball point pens (biros) because
> they were expensive and we would not learn how to use our wooden quill pens
> properly.
>
> All the best.
>
> Rory
>
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> *From:* discussion-bounces at g1to1.org [mailto:discussion-bounces at g1to1.org]
> *On Behalf Of *Yishay Mor
> *Sent:* Tuesday, May 08, 2007 4:31 AM
> *To:* Valerie Crawford
> *Cc:* discussion at g1to1.org
> *Subject:* Re: NYT article: Schools drop laptop programs
>
>
>
> Saw this last week, and couldn't resist throwing in my 2p:
>
> http://www.noe-kaleidoscope.org/people/yish/blog/start-0_-2007-05-08_read-87
>
> *Stop press: Shlepping a chunk of plastic and wires does not improve your
> grades.<http://www.noe-kaleidoscope.org/people/yish/blog/start-0_-2007-05-08_read-87>
> *
>
> Winnie Hu from the NYT writes about schools ditching their laptop
> programmes for lack of results<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/04/education/04laptop.html>. A must read.
>
> When the school tightened its network security, a 10th grader not only
> found a way around it but also posted step-by-step instructions on the Web
> for others to follow (which they did).
>
> Wow. Talk about problem solving. Collaborative learning. These kids are
> obviously learning something. Well, the school, and the reporter, where not
> that impressed
>
> Yet school officials here and in several other places said laptops had
> been abused by students, did not fit into lesson plans, and showed little,
> if any, measurable effect on grades and test scores at a time of increased
> pressure to meet state standards.
>
> That is surprising, given the reports from Maine
>
> Attendance is up. Detentions are down. Just six months after Maine began a
> controversial program to provide laptop computers to every seventh grader in
> the state, educators are impressed by how quickly students and teachers have
> adapted to laptop technology."
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/05/nyregion/05LAPT.html?ex=1179268008&ei=1&en=469140e27abd5a63
>
>
> "You hear kids say: I feel smarter now", "some say it has transformed the
> relationships between students and teachers"
>
> http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4660781
>
>
> The answer is at the end of the article. A teacher is quoted:
>
> "Let's face it, math is for the most part still a paper-and-pencil
> activity when you're learning it," she said.
>
> In the early 19C schools in America and Europe introduced slates and
> number frames <http://americanhistory.si.edu/teachingmath/> as means for
> maths instruction. Until then, the standard method was - a teacher reading
> out of a text book, and students chanting after. Exams were oral, and
> students were expected to recite textbook proofs down to variable names. I
> can see the Winnie Hu of the day quoting a teacher:
>
> "Let's face it, learning maths is still for the most part repeating after
> the teacher. A slate just gets in the way."
>
>
>
> ___________________________
>   Yishay Mor, Researcher, London Knowledge Lab
>    http://www.lkl.ac.uk/people/mor.html
>    http://yishaym.wordpress.com
>    https://www.linkedin.com/in/yishaymor
>    http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=yishaym%40gmail.com
>    +44-20-78378888 <javascript:void(0)> x5737
>

-- 
--Valerie
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