Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Blog post #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

Did You Know?

After watching the Did You Know 3.0 video by Mr. Karl Fisch I learned how much the digital and technological world is growing. The growth was already obvious in today's society but the statistics was not known. Fifteen years ago car phone usage started increasing and now today cellular phones have evolved into hand held computers that can transmit information instantly. After seeing the number of people that use the digital world today and how fast they have grown over the years the world is going to be ran by technology alone within the next five to ten years.

The video gave good information about the growth of the ever changing world of technology. With this information we can use it to determine the future growth of our world in the digital and technological sense. I knew the world was growing but I never had the data that proved it so it made this video enjoyable for me to learn the statistics. I recommend people who are interested in seeing which direction the world is heading, to watch this vieo and others like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm1sCsl2MQY

Mr. Winkle Wakes:

I started watching the video Mr. Winkle wakes on you tube and couldn'treally figure out the direction it was heading. It starts out with Rip Van Winkle waking up after 100 years of sleep with the world changed around him. As soon as Mr. Winkle looked around he grew curious of the changes and went to explore them. He noticed the use of computers in several locations which were strange devices he had never seen.

When Mr. Winkle ventured into a school he noticed that there was a teacher lecturing students while they took notes and listened to what he had to say. At the same time Mr. Winkle also noticed an older computer sitting onthe desk in the back of the class with dust not being used. As he walks off he exclaims that after 100 years some things still remain the same. From this short video the point I took from it was no matter how much the world may get technologically more superior our education and our children's education still remain the importance of today's society.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

In this video SIr Ken Robinson is speaking about the importance of the school systems to nurture the creativity of its students rather then diminish them. I couldn't agree more with his beliefs and his speech. In today's society school teachers have a curriculum they are instructed to follow and most stick directly to the plan, but ever student is different and has their own special skills in the classrooms.

If a teacher has a student that is slower in math or reading the teacher punishes the student by just giving more homework or continuous bad grades. This method isn't causing the student to learn anything new but it could have a negative impact on whether they are afraid to show another side that may be more creative. In my opinion this would diminish the student's will to want to continue being creative which could be avoided by teacher's paying more attention to their students inside and outside the classroom.

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-teachers-vicki-davis

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

This video shows how Vicki Davis has incorporated digital learning into the classroom. In this video she also announces that teachers do not have to know everything when they come up to educate their students. She also admits that her students have taught her a few things in the classroom also. I agree with Mrs. Davis about her views of teachers not knowing everything and not pretending to know everything to educate young minds. She also is using the digital world to link up with other countries which we could learn about their culture as they can learn about ours.

When I was learning words and numbers in elementary school, we had the old apple computers that had Oregon Trail, word muncher, and number muncher on it. This, in my oppinion, was the beginning of the digital learning proccess that has grown over the years and continues to grow in our school system. I very much support Vicki Davis and the other digital world teachers in everything they are doing for our kids to help them learn the subjects that are needed for everyday life while making it fun in the proccess.

27 comments:

  1. You write "...and our children's education still remain the importance of today's society." Do you think we are recognizing the importance of education in today's society when we ignore, and sometimes object to, the use in our schools of the most modern communication and information processing tools that have ever existed? Either you did not intend to say this or I totally disagree with your conclusion.

    You write "If a teacher has a student that is slower in math or reading..." You will face that many times in your career as an educator. What will YOU do?

    Line 4 Vicki Davis you have "... teacher snot ..." You should remove the "s" before "not".

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  2. In your email response to me you make a number of different points that deserve a response.

    You write in your email: "I'm not saying that technology is bad or that it should be outlawed, but in schools, unless you are in a technology computer technology class, students shouldn't be using it." (I added all the commas in the quotation.)

    I believe this is an extremely erroneous position to take. Our responsibility as educators is to make sure that all students have the best tools for any subject matter they are studying or project they are undertaking. The best tools we have today, for communicating, for accessing information, for processing data, for recording evidence, for comparing and contrasting information are tools that are defined as technological tools. And you would keep these from your students? Unfortunately, you are not alone in the educational world. But I will absolutely guarantee you that I would do everything I possibly could to keep my grandchildren out of any class in which you established draconian rules such as you have proposed.

    Why don't we debate the issue in a podcast or videocast? We both would probably learn some very important things!

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  3. Shouldn't our schools reflect life outside of school? Why should our students not be able to access tools in our classrooms they have access to everywhere else? This just strengthens the impression that schools are no longer relevant to society. (A position I tend to support, BTW)

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  4. Mr. Chamberlain, students can be aloud access to the same so called tools in the classroom but should be with major restrictions. Students that do not want to be in the classes they are in will find any way to occupy themselves to get by until class is over. Having ways for them to surf the internet without learning a basis of the education we are trying to give them takes away from the students rather then helping them. I still stand by my beliefs that technology is not the most important thing in the classroom. This in no way strengthens any impression that schools are not relevant in any society. The education of our children is our future with or without technology.

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  5. Dr. Strange, I'm sorry that you disagree with the fact that students should have a certain amount of knowledge about a subject before introducing technology to them and I hate that because of your beliefs that you would keep your grandchildren out of the classrooms that believe in this. As I have said before, technology is not a bad thing but I believe that students should have a certain concept of the information before introducing the lazy way to them through technology.

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  6. This is an interesting conversation which proves one of my points, posting and commenting are not always the best way to have conversations.

    I totally agree with you that students don't want to be in some classes. I would argue that those classes are either irrelevant to the students' lives or they are poorly taught. It is my job as the teacher to skip the former and make sure the latter does not occur. Yes, not every student likes every assignment I give. Every student has the option to not do the work.

    I don't know about other classrooms, but my students rarely have the time to surf the net and they sure don't have my permission to do so. If they do finish their assignment they have other activities to do; reading their library book, working on work from other class, even the occasional educational game. If the student chooses not do his/her work and instead chooses to surf the net that is a problem with the student. Do only students with internet access choose to goof off? ;)

    I completely agree with you that the technology is not the most important thing in the room, that would be the student. If we agree on that, we can have wonderful conversations about the rest because we already agree on the most important part! :)

    Finally, I would like to point out that these conversations could not take place without technology (unless you had happened to run into me when I was visiting your campus this summer.) If we can share our thoughts and beliefs and learn from each other, why shouldn't all our students have the same opportunities? Mine do, and I can't wait to read your comments on my students' posts this week!

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  7. @Chris Patrick: Every time you use a calculator, are you being lazy? Every time you look up something on the Web instead of slogging down to the library to look it up in a book, are you being lazy? Every time you do a transaction online rather than on the phone or by mail, are you lazy? Every time you use a word processor instead of a typewriter or writing a letter by hand, are you lazy? There's "lazy," and then there's "just how we do business these days."

    Here's what I know: the future is digital. Heck, the PRESENT is digital. So we can prepare kids for a technology-suffused, globally-interconnected world or we can stick our heads in the sand and pretend otherwise. Guess which path is better for our students' future success?

    [SNARK ALERT] Actually, it's okay by me if you don't prepare your kids for the world as it is and will be. After all, my kids have to beat somebody in this hypercompetitive global economy. Might as well be yours...

    [OKAY, I'M BACK] In the real world (i.e., the one outside of P-12 education), technology suffuses almost all meaningful work. Why shouldn't we do the same in the environments that are supposed to prepare students for that world? How are our students supposed to get ready for a digital world using notebook paper and textbooks?

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  8. If technology helps a student, use it.

    Technology is not the issue--good teaching is the issue. When technology is stifled, as it is in many schools, there is not much point in focusing on it.

    let technology into the classroom if it helps. Let those who want to use it, use it.

    But, making a claim one way or the other about its efficacy seems to miss the point--education.

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  9. This is a different position than the one you took in your email to me. And it poses some interesting new questions.

    First, I am curious as to why students need "a certain amount of knowledge" about a subject before they can use technology to acquire, process and communicate information.

    Second, how would you define "a certain amount of knowledge"?

    Third, what do you mean by "the lazy way ... through technology."

    It seems to me, as educators, that our first responsibility is to decide what we want students to know, be able to do, and have experienced. Is there a certain body of factual information that everyone should know? There have been many debates about this. Books have been written trying to identify what an American or an "educated American" or a "cultured American" should know. There is and never will be, in my opinion, an answer to that question. But maybe you have an answer. If so, I would love to hear it. And for you, that is an answer. But it probably would not satisfy me. So who decides?

    Now what should students be able to do? The list is shorter here, and we might even find more agreement among educators and maybe even between you and me. First we can start with some thinking skills. Students should be able to observe, describe, compare, and contrast data and information. Students should be able to formulate questions, seek "answers," reformulate those questions or ask new questions based on their original search for an answer. Whether there are "answers" is an interesting question that has been the central question of philosophers for a long time. "Answers" may only be common agreements based on the information we have at the moment. Think about the various "answers" throughout history that have been given to these two questions:
    Is the earth the center of the universe?
    Is the world flat and if we sail far enough will we drop off the edge?
    We'll skip Where we go if we fall off? for another session.

    This is continued below. Blogger says I have used up all of the space allowed for one comment!

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  10. This blog is a perfect example of an opportunity afforded to you via technology.

    If your assignment had been to watch the videos and turn in a reaction paper to your professor, you would be reading only your professor's feedback after he/she had time to read all the other papers in your class. At the very most, you might have had to share your reaction paper or 'journaling' with the others in your class, so you might also have their feedback.

    Because you are using a tech tool, you now have the potential of REAL-TIME and ONGOING feedback from anyone who reads this blog. Because the blog and topic of your post was mentioned on Twitter (another tech tool), you will probably have more readers than just those who happened by your blog. So, a potential global audience compared to a professor and maybe your classmates... that's a huge difference!

    What's amazing about this opportunity that technology has given you is that you will find some people in the comments who agree with you, as well as some who do not. Regardless of whether you change your beliefs or stick to them, you have had an opportunity to grow and think well beyond what you usually receive from an assignment on paper simply because you have had feedback outside the microcosm that is your classroom.

    I was a professional developer in technology for 8 years and helped the teachers in my school district use to learn technology to facilitate learning experiences for their students. I did not teach them to use technology. There is a big difference. I hope that you will understand that difference as you move through your courses.

    Now, I'm back in the classroom as a K-5 music teacher. Some days I use technology, and some days I do not. If I use technology, it is to help extend learning experiences for my students, to provide them opportunitie to communicate outside the classroom in a method that is not possible without technology, and to help them learn to create something on their own that they could not do otherwise. But again, there are days when we don't use tech at all. This is okay!

    My biggest question for you is this: for which world are we preparing our students? The one that they will inherit as adults, or the one in which we live now? This is the key to the Rip Van Winkle story above... he recognized the school, because the school hadn't changed its design in over 100 years. The outside world had most definitely changed. Shouldn't the school change to reflect the world? Shouldn't kids be learning differently for a different world?

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  11. Blogger doesn't like how large my comment is, so we'll try Parts I and II. Part I... This blog is a perfect example of an opportunity afforded to you via technology.

    If your assignment had been to watch the videos and turn in a reaction paper to your professor, you would be reading only your professor's feedback after he/she had time to read all the other papers in your class. At the very most, you might have had to share your reaction paper or 'journaling' with the others in your class, so you might also have their feedback.

    Because you are using a tech tool, you now have the potential of REAL-TIME and ONGOING feedback from anyone who reads this blog. Because the blog and topic of your post was mentioned on Twitter (another tech tool), you will probably have more readers than just those who happened by your blog. So, a potential global audience compared to a professor and maybe your classmates... that's a huge difference!

    What's amazing about this opportunity that technology has given you is that you will find some people in the comments who agree with you, as well as some who do not. Regardless of whether you change your beliefs or stick to them, you have had an opportunity to grow and think well beyond what you usually receive from an assignment on paper simply because you have had feedback outside the microcosm that is your classroom.

    I was a professional developer in technology for 8 years and helped the teachers in my school district use to learn technology to facilitate learning experiences for their students. I did not teach them to use technology. There is a big difference. I hope that you will understand that difference as you move through your courses.

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  12. Part II:
    Now, I'm back in the classroom as a K-5 music teacher. Some days I use technology, and some days I do not. If I use technology, it is to help extend learning experiences for my students, to provide them opportunities to communicate outside the classroom in a method that is not possible without technology, and to help them learn to create something on their own that they could not do otherwise. But again, there are days when we don't use tech at all. This is okay!

    My biggest question for you is this: for which world are we preparing our students? The one that they will inherit as adults, or the one in which we live now? This is the key to the Rip Van Winkle story above... he recognized the school, because the school hadn't changed its design in over 100 years. The outside world had most definitely changed. Shouldn't the school change to reflect the world? Shouldn't kids be learning differently for a different world?

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  13. Education should be "the filling of society’s collective mind with good and correct information and a means to understand and analyze it."

    As educators it is our charge to educate. How we do that doesn't matter much, as long as we do it effectively. That means using whatever is available, suitable and appropriate.

    Since technology is available, suitable and appropriate, I use it whenever it's useful. Same for everything under the sun.

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  14. The pencil, the ruler, the keyboard, the video camera, the digital collaborative document,... are all tool for expression, reflection, creation, creativity, calculation, exploration... or mindless and even decontextualized processes. The role of the teacher is to inspire, challenge, confront, expose, empower, charge, equip, impassion, collaborate with, free... the learner and other learners... to learn. "Make lazy" is nowhere to be found in my list, which is far from complete. My students (I teach graduate education students), too, often worry about students becoming too reliant on computer technologies. Why is it that we never worried about them becoming too reliant on paper or pencils or rulers or chairs or ... Oh, it turns out that some did.
    http://synthesizingeducation.com/blog/2010/01/21/some-funny-educational-technology-quotes/

    If we keep the focus on what powerful learning consists of, the tools can either help or hinder. Leverage those than help... the student.

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  15. Mr. Chamberlain...In your classroom you have the restrictions you have given to the students to keep the students focused on their school work. I agree with technology being in the classroom after the students have learned the basic knowledge they need to succeed. This post I have made has blown up and gone out to different people with different oppinions about the use of technology in the classroom, with me being a math educator, I think students should learn to do the work by using their own skills in math rather then using someone else's skills in programming. After learning the needed information they could be aloud to use things like the TI 89 calculator for a quicker way to the answer. I COMPLETELY AGREE with you that the students are definitely the most important in the classroom. They are our future with or without technology and that is why we should educate them to be able to succeed in life with or without technology.

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  16. Mr. Mcleod...In one word, YES, all the answers to the first paragraph are yes but as you said that is the way we do business these days. Today's society has become lazy primarily due to technological advancements that cause people to never have to leave thier homes. Kids should learn the basics of education before learning the shortcut to everything. If the computers fail everyone would be lost! The basics could also include basic computer operations and educational games but the internet access should be restricted by the educator. Sticking our heads in the sand isn't an answer and preparing kids for a "technology-suffused, globally-interconnected world" isn't really the answer either. Hitting a compromisable solution is a better answer.

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  17. Patrick, please call me Bill. You hit me in my weak spot. I am not a math teacher, although I have done a pretty lousy job trying in the past. I have always had a hard time relating using technology with math.

    Since you obviously relate this directly to your teaching math, how about I explain how you can use tech with your students in a way that won't directly effect their practice. I am a huge believer in reflecting on learning. When you have your students learn how to do algebra or work with geometry, think about having them reflect on what they are doing.

    You could have your students write a post on a class blog explaining what they learned or how they can use it outside of school. You could record the students working through a problem and explaining the steps they are taking. You could even record yourself working a problem and explaining the steps for the students to review. All of these strategies allow for using tech without compromising student learning. In fact, I believe it enhances it.

    If you have an IWB (interactive white board) you can record your notes and share them with your students. You can show students videos on math concepts you download or stream online. You can even skype in someone (professor, mathematician, engineer) that can give your students a new perspective on math.

    Don't be stuck in a box thinking that tech is just a way to get a job done, it can be much more than that. Try to keep this in mind when you work through EDM 310. Identify ways you can use what you are learning in your future classroom.

    How do you feel about your post blowing up? I think most of the comments were positive and I know they were meant to help. Imagine if you could get a bunch of online friends to help with your students' online work. That would be very powerful.

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  18. Dr. Strange...for the first time I think we kind of agreed in this blog about or technological debate, when you say, "...what an American or an "educated American" or a "cultured American" should know. There is and never will be, in my opinion, an answer to that question...". I completely agree with your statement because there really is not a set amount of information anyone should know. The world is always changing and the world is changing to the digital world rather than the analitical world of the past.

    Now, to do with your questions at the beginning of your comment...

    First, "a certain amount of knowledge" that a student needs to have before being able to acquire, process and communicate information using technology is the concept of what they are trying to process. As a math teacher, if a student looks up a formula to solve a problem, how can they process the problem or the formula without having a bsic knowledge of how the mathematical systems work?

    Second, I define "a certain amount of knowledge" as being a basis for learning new things. To use technology you need certain knowledge to make it work for you. Using calculators to do math is a basic technological process that you should have an understanding of before using. In elementary school you have to learn your addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division rules before aloud to use computers (calculators). In high school you are taught different techniques of solving equations and functions in which calculators will do completely for you, which does not help you understand the concept of why this is done and it's application.

    Third, when I say the lazy way I am referring to the fact that technology is turning toay's society into a more lazy society that depends on technology rather than each other or themselves.

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  19. Bill...I am glad the post blew up. It is all different points of view that I am completely taking in. I agree and disagree with the posts but as you said they are meant to be positive feedbacks. Using technology to teach is a good way to get lessons across to the kids, especially younger kids. I am not be any means arguing the fact that technological advancement is a good thing but I am arguing that in a school system the education of the children is the most important not the technological teachings. I so far agree with what you have said and I will probably use some of the ideas you mentioned in my classroom. My arguement is primarily aimed at the teachers that want to teach calculator rather than math or teach google rather than history or english.

    Oh BTW, you can call me Chris.

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  20. @Chris Patrick, you said: "preparing kids for a 'technology-suffused, globally-interconnected world' isn't really the answer." Well, then what world ARE you preparing them for [because that's the world your students now (and will) live in]? Am I allowed to be somewhat dismayed that you fail to see the relevance of this very important task in your future classroom practice? Should I be discouraging administrators from hiring you as a potential teacher because you want to prepare students for some world that does not exist? As I ask the school leaders with whom I work, what's your moral/ethical/professional obligation as an educator to prepare kids for their future, not your past? I think it's pretty high...

    You also say that "technology is turning today's society into a more lazy society that depends on technology rather than each other or themselves." Isn't this akin to Socrates' argument that the new-fangled invention of 'writing' would erode people's memory (and, of course it did, but we gained so much more in return...)? I don't see you bemoaning the invention of books because they make our brains lazy. Can you critique digital technologies without criticizing books? Do digital technologies make us humans any 'lazier' than analog technologies?

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  21. Chris, I absolutely agree that we should not be teaching tech tools any more than we should be teaching how to use pencils or paper. Students can figure that out by themselves. There are some times teaching tools is necessary, especially when they are technical tools like in a machine shop. I really prefer to have my students use these tools to create something or to show what they are learning in content areas.

    Sorry I called you Patrick, it wasn't meant to be disrespectful I just got confused cause you have two first names :)

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  22. Mr. McLeod...Teaching math is not teaching calculator, teaching english is not teaching google, and teaching science is not teaching youtube. In my class [I do not care what you do in your class] students will be taught rather than being on computers everyday, all day. The world I am preparing them for is a world that technology IS NOT the only source of knowledge, that's the world I live in. You can feel whatever you want to feel about my teaching styles and beliefs because they are not going to change. A world full of nothing but technology does not exist either so unless you are a fortune teller that can see the future, no one knows what the future holds. So, discouraging the hiring of teachers due to thier teaching styles to prepare students for a world that does not exist, applies to every educator.

    Technology is making today's society lazy, period! As far as the Socrates argument he was right, whether we gained more from it or not. What are we gaining from our kids sitting on the computer and playing video games all day. Kids are not as active in today's society and that is why I called it lazy.

    [This is not meant to be ugly or be negative response, I can see where it sounds in some places that way and I wanted to emphasize that]

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  23. Hey Chris,

    First of all I would like to say that this debate is very interesting and I love to challenge my own thinking with other opinions, so thanks for that!

    Secondly, I think that one thing you could think about is this: As I have learned to use these new ways of teaching and implementing technology for the more common way for students to learn, not every thing I find has to be used by technology specifically.

    What I mean by that is I can use technology not only for the children's use, but also mine.

    I can see that you are not a big fan of your students using technology, so let me give you a different way to look at it. If you can use technology to greater your teachings, you will certainly be doing your students a favor.

    But, you might ask this question: Why would I use technology to advance my knowledge as a teacher? My answer to this is because the information of technology is so much greater than any one book can explain. There is so many things that you can use to help you teach. I just watched a video on different hands-on ideas for my science classroom that are so awesome and I know and see that kids enjoy having hands-on activities. If it wasn't for technology and the tools I learned to use BY A TEACHER, I would not have had access to these things.

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  24. TFT...If technology helps to pass on information about a subject I agree to use it. If a tech tool is placed in the classroom, have restrictions on the use of it to not only keep the students mind on the subject matter but to keep the students from disrupting each other. Without restrictions, who is to stop a student from getting on facebook all class period and not do the work that is assigned. Teaching technology also should be limited to a computer class that has computer based learning centers that are monitored by the teachers.

    I agree with your second comment about using whatever it takes to educate the students but I do not think that educating and teaching computer are the same thing. Using technology to get a lesson plan across more clearly is a good thing, but allowing free access to tech tools for students is a bad idea.

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  25. Chris - Check out this blog post and video; California Tests Full Year Algebra Course on iPad App

    And check out the debate that is starting as a result (links in blog):

    "On the testimonial page of their site I can already see a dichotomy of teacher responses to the initiative.

    Angie Bustos of the Sequoia Middle school in Long Beach, CA, says that 'It won't change the way I instruct, but it will change the way kids learn'.

    James Mills of Hudson Valley K-8, also in Long Beach, states that 'This could alleviate the need of a teacher in the room. A teacher can now become a coach'."

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  26. I would just like to say that using technology in a classroom is great and can be helpful. I see Chris's point, teach them all the ways before allowing them to take the easy way. I know kids today that can't give back the correct change without a calculator. That is sad, very sad! Since Chris is a math educator then teaching the children how to work out formulas first would be better for them, than just jumping straight into computing it. We, as educators, want our students to get their brain working and sometimes technology doesn't allow that.

    We really need to have balance in the classroom. Chris you don't have to have your stusents on computers all day. However, make videos of you working problems and post them on youtube so that you students can access this at home. I don't know how many times I was doing homework but couldn't remember how something was done (even if I did take notes). Have your students make videos about their work, because sometimes when you go back and watch yourself you can find your own mistakes. There are so many things you can do with technology without having the students in front of computers. I believe technology in the classrooms are really needed for studying, and homework OUTSIDE the classroom. Access is important, questions can be asked and answers can be obtained easily. Technology doesn't have to be the only source of learning in your classroom, but it can be beneficial.

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  27. I checked out the link, Dr. Strange, and made my comment to the group of people involved in the conversation. I think people feel that devices, such as the ipad, will be the best thing ever but they do not look at things like what may happen when putting these devices in teenage hands, or younger. Who will pay to fix these computers when they break, get dropped, stolen, malfunction, or any other mishap occurs? College generation students may be better to put these devices to use than grade school children.

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