Technology: Friend or Foe in Education?

I've been curious for awhile now on when the conversation "out in the world" would start involving using technology in schools.  I've seen schools and programs that created policies that ban technology and I've seen schools and programs that have embraced it with open arms. Here's just a small sample of what some of that looks like:

• cell phones are checked in/turned off/put away in lockers during all hours of the school day
• cell phones can be used during lunch/recess/off campus time
• cell phones can be used during instructional time in place of "clickers" to answer a teacher's questions (see www.polleverywhere.com if you aren't familiar with that)
• computers are not in classrooms
• computers are in classrooms but used only during certain free times
• there is a classroom set of ipads for each child that replaces textbooks
• there is an ipad for each child, checked out at the beginning of the school year
• there is a laptop, given to each student at the beginning of the school year, for a one time $50 fee

Which one is the one we should be doing? What will help our children learn the most?  Tonight, I envision a school that lets every child have an ipad, instead of a textbook. A classroom teacher that lets every child learn at their level, in their learning style, in their language on this tool. A school leader that lets the instructional leader use these tools in this manner, so that the teacher can roam around the room and help individual children where needed.  Tonight, I envision a school that uses technology to help children reach their full potential.

What would learning be like if this were to happen instead?

My favorite new one for the day thanks to a co-worker:

I FIGURED IT OUT!!! Here is the video I talked about yesterday.......

Are we a community of learners or are we a classroom of students? 

Tonight I started my first class toward my continuing administration license program.  I decided to take a class on technology and instruction.  I'm fascinated by both, so it only seems appropriate that I would take a class that talks about both subject matters.  What I didn't realize is that everything I had been doing today would come together in a swirling pool of thought inside my head. 

Here's what I mean by that:  today over lunch, I spent some time reading an article on differentiating instruction. It was a fascinating article and one that I hope to connect to this blog at some point as soon as I learn how to do that.  For now, you'll have to trust me that it was fascinating.  If you aren't familiar with differentiating instruction, you should look into it.  Look into universally designed instruction while you are at it.  Both will re-think how you look at education.  I start thinking about how we should look at education, which leads me to:

Are we a community of learners or are we a classroom of students? 

If you work in education, you know the answer to this question for most (notice I didn't say all) of our kids already.  That saddens me.  

So, I go to class this evening and we start talking about technology and the use of it in education and we watch a couple of videos, one of which is sirkenrobinson from the TED website (Again, I'll post it here when I can figure out how that works).  If you haven't seen this, you should watch it.  While it is true that most people like to talk down on education today, there are good things happening out there as well, it just might be different from what you grew up with when you were a child going to school.  For example:  Are you wearing a watch?  Chances are, if you are under the age of 25, you aren't and if you are over 25 you probably are.  Why is that?  Have you thought about it before?  Young kids today don't need to wear a watch.  Truth is you don't either, but you are so accustomed to wearing one that you do it anyways.  It's all about what you know.  (That particular analogy isn't mine by the way---watch the sirkenrobinson video, I just liked it so I borrowed it)

I guess what I am trying to say is:  I think we can do it better.  We must do it better.  Let's get started.........because if not us, then who? 

I'm blogging!!!

Starting a blog for class today.  My first blog.