Week 9: Please Don't Replace Me With A Computer, Just Make Me A Better Educator

There have been many great innovations throughout history which have vastly changed the world, like the wheel, the printing press, the automobile and most recently the Internet.  The Internet, and the massive technologies and medias which go along with it (like iPhones, compatible projector systems, interactive chat rooms, blogs and many, many others) is such a juggernaut, and is so widely used today and prevalent in the lives of everyone on the planet - rich, poor, black, white, American or Lithuanian - that many literacy advocates, have called on schools to "foster a critical understanding of media as one of the most powerful social, economic, political, and cultural institutions of our era."  Henry Jenkins wants even more done.  He's a huge advocate of 'participatory culture' and getting media into schools in a big way, so that students can "critically view media content in terms of social networks, communities, and cultures."  For example, he had some of his students read Moby Dick and then go into Wikipedia and make changes to the description of the book and support those changes with evidence from the text.  (Jenkins video).  He said it gave his students a real sense of empowerment; through the exercise, they felt like they could change the world.  He then went on to ask why such sites like Wikipedia are banned from so many schools… Now, I loved his exercise, and it's one I might model in my own classroom, but my problem is this:  While the Internet and new media in general should probably be allowed in schools, it should not be used as a replacement for education, but in support of Good education. As Paul Thomas, a former teacher and writer of twelve books on public education methods says, "a spare approach to technology in the classroom will always benefit learning."  (NYTimes)

It's shocking to me to think that there are schools out there today that have no Internet access, or no computers in the library because I agree that the Internet is such a cultural and economic phenomena that it must be acknowledged in some ways.  However, it's equally as odd to see schools using Only computers and iPads and projection systems, because amid this new technology onslaught, very few people are actually addressing the Real issues for schools, which is: How can we prepare our students for the real world?   Ultimately, it doesn't matter how many computers are in a room.  What matters is that we teach our students essential life skills like teamwork (so they can work-out a host of social issues that will affect them in future careers) and self-assessment (so they learn to be both subjective and objective in papers, presentations and with peers in general.) and we keep them engaged (which shows that they feel like what they're being taught, actually matters).  None of this, however, requires a computer, or even electricity.  

In the research brief "Digital Literacies," Julia Gillen and David Barton believe that schools are lagging behind the Internet revolution, and they say, "if the school remains (obliged to) adhere to the characteristics of the former semiotic and social world, there will be an increasingly vast gap of practice, understanding, and of disposition of knowledge." (p. 7 Digital Literacies).  But this is obvious hyperbole.  Let's be honest. It's not like schools are the only place were a student can go online and learn how to text or use Facebook.  I have students who live in shelters, but they still have smartphones and can access the Internet whenever they want.  Besides, you don't Need computers to educate.  Just look at the over 150 Waldorf Schools around the country - places where students routinely go to the top colleges and whose parents work for Google and Yahoo and so many other giant tech companies.  None of these schools allow computers in the classrooms, and while that might be a bit drastic in our modern era, I love the reasons why - because they understand that technology is not necessary for a Good education, and so they harbor "a teaching philosophy focused on physical activity and learning through creative, hands-on tasks."  (NYTimes)

In general, schools need to be more proactive in the education of students - and not by jumping on every new technological advancement, but by getting back to basics of education, which means connecting modern classroom practices with the real world our students will one day inherit. W. Lance Bennett alludes to this point by mentioning how schools are failing to create great citizens (people invested in their country) and communities (groups who work together) in the way that the Internet has done.  In his article "Changing Citizenship in the Digital Age", he talks about how the Internet has massive communities who all work together online like Facebook or Myspace, but in modern schools, "citizen experiences for those coming of age in contemporary society fall into one of two categories: (1) little or no civics content or (2) courses that stick to academic coverage of basic government functions and present unappealing perspectives on the subject."  (p. 16).  And you know what?  He's right.  Most teachers stick to the script of the common core, instead of using the common core guidelines to engage and inspire their students with real-world lessons.  I'm certainly not perfect, but I at least try to teach citizenship through teamwork: by making my room the country, and making my students the 'citizens' and showing them how to be a good 'citizen/student' in both school and life. Once again, no technology is needed for these simulations. Yes…if they question if I'm being a Dictator or an Emperor, I DO let them go to the class computer and research those two words (as support…), but the principals of these exercises require no technology.  

I also try to teach my students is how to self-assess how to be both objective and subjective, so they know Why I give them an 84% instead of a 90%, and how to spot successful practices (or unsuccessful ones) within themselves.   This way, when they move from school to a workplace, they'll have essential skill necessary not just to pass an ELA test, but to succeed in life.  In the same way, every child should now how to   support an argument and tell a story with a beginning, middle and an end - not just to pass a test, but because that will affect the way they communicate throughout their lives, both on the Internet and in front of a real, live person.  That's why I love what David Crystal says about language and the internet in his book Language and the Internet.  He at least acknowledges that there must be some Basic skills that need no technology at all, but that from those skills, others will naturally rise with technological changes.  For example, in discussing how writing might one day change in schools, he writes,  "E-mail will then take its place in the school curriculum, not as a medium to be feared for its linguistic irresponsibility (because it allows radical graphological deviance) but as one which offers a further domain within with children can develop their ability to consolidate their stylistic institutions and make responsible linguistic choices." (p.  128).

Although the Internet, computers, and technology in general are awesome, not a single electrical outlet is needed to engage students. Sure, it's Easier to grab their attention if I put on a Youtube video on the projector screen, but they're not really 'engaged,' they're more like distracted observers.  More often than not, we have discussions and group simulations with specific goals to help unlock concepts about ancient civilizations and modern life, and my students are engaged because they're constantly moving around and interacting and assessing themselves and each other in meaningful ways.  Don't get me wrong.  I love the Internet and technological advances, and while I might not agree with how the Waldorf Schools completely banishes computers from their program, I certainly love the reasons why.  One of their teachers, "Cathy Waheed, who is a former computer engineer, tries to make learning both irresistible and highly tactile. Last year she taught fractions by having the children cut up food — apples, quesadillas, cake — into quarters, halves and sixteenths. 'For three weeks, we ate our way through fractions,' she said. 'When I made enough fractional pieces of cake to feed everyone, do you think I had their attention?'" (NYTimes)

Resources: 

Crystal, David (2004).  Language and the Internet.  Cambridge University Press.  Cambridge.  Retrieved from http://medicine.kaums.ac.ir/UploadedFiles/Files/Language_and_%20The_Internet.pdf

Gillen, J., & Barton, D. (2010). Digital Literacies.  ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme.  London.  Retrieved from http://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/33471/1/DigitalLiteracies.pdf

Jenkins, Henry.  "Henry Jenkins on Participatory Culture and Media Education." Big Thinkers Video Series
http://www.edutopia.org/henry-jenkins-participatory-culture-video

Richtel, Matt. "A Silicon Valley School That Doesn't Compute." New York Times, Technology Section.  October 22, 2011.  Downloaded March 15th 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-valley-technology-can-wait.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0