Tools for the Mind

I. Brian Pautzke bpautzke@yahoo.com 12/6/07

Tools for the Mind by Mary Burns

II. The article, Tools for the Mind argues that while technology in the classroom is a great advancement in education, schools are not employing this technology to its fullest potential.

Educators became very excited about the prospects of teaching with technology and how much it can provide a classroom in terms of broadening the students experiences and piquing their interests. The question became "are the students actually learning?"

The article goes on to say that higher order learning is not being accomplished with technology and that often times learning becomes reduced to show-and-tell instead of interpret and conclude. To back this up Mary provides data which shows that 81 percent of students have used technology to do electronic presentations but less than one percent use technology to access data bases.

The problem as she sees it is that students and teachers are not maximizing technology and reaching the depths possible with both learning and teaching.

III. 1. When technology first appeared in the classroom it was believed that it could transform student learning.
2. With NCLB legislation teachers are moving away from technology integration, favoring instead a “back to the basics” style teaching.
3. Four behaviors have reinforced the idea of technology being exceptional and a handicap in achieving higher-order thinking.
a. professional development that focuses on teaching skills instead of teaching how computers can enhance learning.
b. districts are failing to provide accommodations which allow for long-term development in technology integration.
c. districts have confused student engagement with higher-order learning.
d. the classification of all software applications as instructionally equal, in reality there are differences in the level of cognitive learning happening between different programs.

IV. This article is very insightful, I often wonder how much my students are learning. I question whether or not I am providing them a quality education, I assume one day I will. I also think to myself that it would be really neat to integrate more technology but alas technology at Bartlett is pretty scarce. I think Mary makes a great point about how educational the technology usage is, one wonders how much students are learning when they are creating Power Point presentations. I doubt very much beyond how to make a Power Point presentation.

The aspect of technology I think can add to a student’s education is by increasing interest through visual stimuli. I have great pictures of Machu Piccu and would love to show my 9th graders those photos during the Inca section of history but I really don’t have great access to the kind of technology or atmosphere that would create a learning environment.

In summation: technology is good, reliance on technology is bad, and teachers have to constantly ask themselves “what are my students learning”.