To summarize? Bring it on… whatever problems you’ve got … we’ve probably already got solutions for.

Okay, now what?

At what point are you going to ask your students to do something with what you taught them?

If the something that you’re asking them to do is take a test. Well. Never mind. Sorry, didn’t mean to waste your time.

Now, before someone writes me off as a nut-job, let me point out what I mean.

None of the technologies spoken about in this post have any value by themselves. A computer does nothing simply by being present, and neither does the use of graphing calculators, Wikis, blogs, or any other technology for that matter. The absence or presence of technology does not, in and of itself, add any value to an educational environment.

It is how that technology is used which may or may not add value. And when we say that everyone needs to use it, we are focusing on the “it” and not the “why” or “to what end”.

It is silly for us to focus on “it” if we know that “it” does not inherently add value.

The argument that the students will use “it” in the real world is also less than a full story. It is kind of like a trump card people throw out to avoid a tough conversation.

Example, “We have to integrate technology because every job in the real world uses it”. I’ve heard it way too many times. Ask employers their top ten list of skills for kids, and they do not want kids who can use Skype, they want kids who can communicate thoughts and ideas.

So, why would we say to math teachers that they must use technology, when the most important skills in math deal with the human ability to problem solve and to look at problems with an analytical approach?

Last month, at our professional development, a representative from Texas Instruments came to our school to demonstrate how the new TI-Nspire can be used in our classrooms. Essentially, the graphing calculator has become a laptop, and it responds more like a computer, so that students can work with it a little bit easier. While it is a great tool to use in the classroom, every student needs to have the same model, and the teacher must have the hardware that links the calculators together. Also, much time is needed to become acclimated to its new capabilities, and how information can be transferred from teacher to student, and vice versa.

As I was sitting through this presentation, I heard comments from some of my colleagues about the different reasons why it would be a waste of time to learn these new techniques. It made me upset, because they did not even give this new idea a fair chance. This is the main reason why technology is not being embraced as much as it should be. Some teachers are not willing to try something new, because they do not want to have learn something new, along with the students.

Scott Kaminski

TI is Texas Instruments to the math dep’t. It is technology non-integration is many ways. A highly specialized tool confined to a single content area. I luv graphing calculators don’t get me wrong, but I can do most of it on excel and have a skill that is marketable. (And it is readily available to many/most – no added cost.)

Another example, is that some of the teachers that I work with still keep a handwritten gradebook. There are many different programs now that will store this information, analyze the data, and provide different statistics about the progress (or lack thereof) of certain students.

I am still amazed that even the “old school” teachers can not see the advantages of technology.

Scott Kaminski