Journal #9

Are Schools Inhibiting 21^st Century Learning?
By Dave Nagel

This article discusses the statistics of parents, students, administrators, teachers, etc… and whether they feel that our students are being adequately educated in technology in today’s classroom. It focuses on sites that many schools filter, like Myspace and Youtube, and talks about how omitting these sites can hurt them more than help them. It also talks about gaming and how a majority of students feel that they benefit from it because it tends to give them an understanding from a difference perspective. Online courses were also a big area of concern. As far as mobile technologies (cell phones, laptops, media players etc.) 52% of those surveyed felt that mobile technology helps engage students in learning. Out of all the technology, laptops were rated the #1 device that could enhance technology and learning. The survey is called The Speak Up Survey, and is conducted annually to assess current issues in education.

QUESTIONS:

#1 – Should students have certain sites filtered on school campus? How do you feel about this?

I work at a public school and spend each day with about 100 or so different high school students. I know that they get really upset that Myspace is blocked, but I don’t see the benefit of having Myspace in the classroom. I would agree with blocking this one. Our school is currently thinking about shutting down Youtube. I personally think that Youtube is great, and I see a few students use it for important research and for Math tutorials. But in all honesty, the majority of students use it to secretly listen to music and to watch violent videos. All day I tutor and monitor, and a minute doesn’t go by when I don’t walk by a computer and see the little Youtube window at the bottom of the screen, and as soon as I pull it up, I have to tell them to shut it down. I want to believe in these kids and I would love to offer them every resource possible in order to learn, but they just don’t seem to be mature enough to use it in an educational way.

#2 – Overall, do you think that our schools are enhancing learning, or limiting it?

This one is easy for me, because I’m not big on technology to begin with. But I really do think that we are enhancing it. There are so many programs and tools that are popping up everyday and we are making these available to our students. They are learning how to write better papers, and how to research. To say that we are limiting them would be an ignorant statement to me. Everybody needs to have boundaries. We need to assess our students daily and take the necessary precautions to make sure that they are being educated in technology, while at the same time being monitored for their own safety. After all, they are still children.