Technology commonly dreamt of in sci-fi films may no longer be a figment
of imagination but actual tangible products that can “revolutionise our
classrooms and the way children learn within 5 years. (Arlington, 2012)” It is
said that the introduction to such technology as the touch screen tables can be
beneficial as it, allows teachers to monitor participation with groups and
“encourage collaborative learning as users solve problems together. (Arlington,
2012)” It also provides teachers with more methods to teach to a wide range of
learning styles. Many have indicated that technology is the key to future
education. However, my own personal experiences with education and technology show
that the reliance on technology to be the future of educational should be
reconsidered.
“We create ourselves through objects or
symbols we must buy.” (Wadham et al, 2007: 4) Although this quote refers to our
identity in the consumer culture, this is very reflective of how schools and
teachers identify themselves, through technology. It could even be rephrased to
‘ schools create themselves through computers and smart boards they must have,’
as it reflects how school choosers identify schools in relations to the
technology present.
The first interactive smart board was
installed into my year 10 commerce teacher’s classroom, he said that his
lessons would change and be better than ever. For me, his lessons remained
relatively the same; the only difference being that his PowerPoint slides were
now projected onto an interactive Smartboard by an ugly orange block which hung
centimetres away. There was an observable change in the teacher’s behaviour,
where he walked around more proudly in his classroom and fiddled with the
Smartboard more whenever another teacher was nearby, almost as if he was
asserting his teaching status with the smart board. You may question the
validity of my observation but this behavioural change became a source of
mockery in the playground amongst students.
It is interesting that he (amongst other
teachers) have identified technological consumption as the means to quality
education. Similarly, students/parents chose schools based on aesthetics such
as the presence of ‘state of the art’ technology and schools advertise these
aesthetics to attract students. (Kenway & Bullen, 2004) This makes me
question how much of the school’s identity is based upon the new technological
presence and how much is based upon its primary role to educate children?
In Snyder et al’s case study; they observe
and compare computer usage at home and its impact on the children’s education.
Results indicated that computer access did not enhance learning rather that it
was dependent upon how it is used. At a particular high school I am currently
helping out at, I have been able to observe first hand the extent to which
technology influences learning.
The implementation of the Digital Education
Revolution Policy saw the year 9s of 2009 being given laptops for their
educational benefit. At this particular high school, these laptops have been
beneficial for students during theory lessons as they type up the theoretical
work quickly and can get through the lesson quickly. Smart boards have been
beneficial for teachers as they are no longer restricted to textbooks, however,
I have seen more flaws that benefits which ultimately hinders learning.
In the classroom, teachers are the “authority
insofar as they possess critical amounts of training, knowledge and skills. (Leonardo,
Z, 2010: 06)” It is in the presence of technology that authority is lost.
Students are accessing blocked websites such a Facebook and Bubble trouble.
Although there is a concern that children are not paying attention, the primary
concern is that despite all the precautions taken to prevent students from
accessing such websites, students are still able to access them. Here, teacher’s
are helpless as their “training, knowledge and skill(Leonardo, Z, 2010: 06)” is
unable to help them overcome this situation; and so authority is lost.
To conclude, society needs to reconsider the
value of technology in education. It is because of the high value placed on the
procession on technology that parents and students identify good schools as the
presence of ‘state of the arts’
technology. Similarly schools re-identify themselves through technological
possession to attract these parents and students. Furthermore, teachers feel
that the presence of technology makes them better educators, although my
experiences show that ir makes no difference. I am not saying that technology
is useless in the education system, rather that self-value and school choice
should not be dependent upon technological possession and schools should
reconsider the needs of new technology such as robot buddies.
References
Arlington, K. (2012). Sci-fi tech coming to a school
near you. Sydney Morning Herald, [online] 16 July. Available at:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/scifi-tech-coming-to-a-classroom-near-you-20120715-2248b.html
[Accessed: 15 September].
Kenway, J. & Bullen,
(2001). Consuming children:
Education-Entertainment-Advertising. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Chapter 5: Designer schools, packaged students
Leonardo, Z. (2009). Affirming ambivalence:
Introduction to cultural politics and education. In Z. Leonardo (Ed.), Handbook of Cultural Politics and Education
(pp.1-48), Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Snyder, I., Angus, L. & Sutherland-Smith, W.
(2002). Building equitable literate futures: Home and school computer-mediated
literacy practices and disadvantage.
Cambridge Journal of Education, 32(3),
367-383.
Wadham, B. Pudsey, J. & Boyd, R. (2007). Culture and education. Sydney: Pearson
Education. Chapter 1: What is culture?
Hi Monique!
ReplyDeleteI found your blog piece very interesting. Technology and being able to use it, is a crucial skill in today's society. At school we were always told by teachers that they had to incorporate a "technology aspect" to our assignments in order to assess our skills and aptitude, the reason being that it's part of the curriculum and will be useful in the future (tertiary education, the workforce). Certainly that was the case. At university I had to complete quizzes online, navigate through blackboard/moodle etc. But like you said, the benefits of technology to education is limited. As Synder stated, it largely has to do with how you use it in relation to what you are learning and your understanding of technology in the first place. For instance, if you see technology as a tool to elucidate your learning or whether you see it for its entertainment value. Further, in regards to teachers adapting to technology, I also agree. Some older teachers are reluctant to embrace and incorporate technology in their lessons. This resistance could be from lack of training which like you said would undermine their authority in the classroom. It could also suggest that teachers consider it as a distraction or irrelevant. In my high school for instance, we received two smart-boards (for the Social science/humanities faculty) but the teachers did not utilise them. This probably has changed since then, but I never received much benefit from them. In the end of the day, I believe that all Universities that offer an Education degree should offer compulsory courses about utilising technology in classrooms and lessons. This will allow student teachers to grasp how to successfully incorporate technology in their lessons to most benefit their students.