[edi581] Clifford Stoll
- From: "Mark Anson" <manson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <edi581@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 17:54:19 -0500
Mr. Stoll's article makes many points against the use of computers in
today's classroom. What planet is he living on?
Yes I agree with some of his arguments. I do believe that it can take
away from student-teacher time when used as a babysitter or without guided
instruction. Yes I agree that many students look for an easy way out of
doing things, but how is a student able to get by an effective teacher
produced assessment if they haven't read the book? Yes there are students
that cannot write a 250 word essay on their own. On the contrary I have a
word prediction computer program in my classroom (co-writer) that is a
wonderful tool pairing what the student sees with a computer generated voice
so that they may also see it. With this assistive technology some of my
students show wonderful growth in being able to reread and correct their own
work. They pair what they have previously seen and heard and apply to all
of their writing.
And then there is his "city kids" argument:
To be fair Stoll sounds like a ignorant jackass, and I apologize for my
language but I resent what he had to say. I have taught in city schools for
four years and have done work in multiple other urban settings. First,
dicipline is a problem for some teachers....oh so I guess that means now
these uneducated, uncivilized children don't appreciate technology and we
shouldn't offer it? Second, "computers in inner-city schools are wrecked or
stolen by neighbors very quickly anyways." Where does he come up with this?
Yes I have heard of computers being stolen from schools before, but is that
a reason not to offer them to the poor. I have seven computers in my
classroom and I have never had a problem with them except for the extensive
maze of passwords to log on. I am happy to say that none of them have ever
walked out of my building.
I do believe schools are heading in the right direction purchsaing newer
and increasing numbers of computers. My sixth grade team (5 classes) has
forty computers total. We each also spend an hour per week in the computer
lab. In my classroom I enjoy an environment full of actively engaged
children that benefit from our computers. Besides some of the obvious uses
(internet searches, e-mail, word processing, remedial math assistance, etc.)
they can be used in group work settings to create teamwork strategies for
completing assignments, and prompt BETTER behavior because every child wants
to use the computer. My highschool and college professors didn't accept
handwritten papers. We all need to learn about the technology as it grows
and as we grow so that we can better ourselves for the future.
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