I found this article from late 2015, linked below
(also linked in diigo), about two schools that do not allow the use of
technology. One is in London and one is in Silicon Valley, of all places!
According to the article, employees of some of the
tech giants like Apple, Google, and Yahoo send their kids to the Waldorf School
of the Peninsula, which prefers hands – on, experiential learning rather than
technology. Instead, they emphasize imagination, creative thinking, and problem
solving. There is apparently some research showing that technology use has
shown no significant improvement on student learning and some even says that
students using a great deal of tech actually do worse. These schools want
students to become producers of knowledge rather than consumers.
Personally, I can see both sides of this argument.
First, I’ve been teaching a looong time, and we
did just fine before there were computers and internet access in every classroom.
We managed without Power Point or Word or gradebook software. We researched in
the Library instead of on Google. Students bringing devices in class can be
very distracting. At my school we caught students using texts to cheat on
exams. Teachers often complain about shrinking attention spans and I think
there is some truth to the argument that the constant stimulation of technology
has added to that. So I can understand the appeal of tech – free classrooms.
On the other hand, tech – free classrooms?!?!? Are
you crazy!?!?!? With tech, lessons are more engaging, practice at an
appropriate level is immediately available and OMG! who wants to ever see
another card catalog??? Tech has allowed us so save so much time on research
and grading and lesson planning. It is hard to imagine going into a classroom
tomorrow and not having my Smart Board and projector. As advanced as it was for
the time, no one misses the overhead projector!! So I can understand the appeal
of tech – filled classrooms.
So, I bring this up because I figure there are
LOTS of opinions out there on this subject. What are your thoughts?
