I'm currently in a class called The American School that looks at education in the United States and some of the things that are going both well and terribly in our school systems. One of the topics we've been discussing recently is that American education lacks an emphasis on application and utilization of information, especially when compared to schools in countries across Europe and Asia. In many of the articles we've read on this subject, the concept of applying and using technology in classrooms is paraded as a solution to the pattern of rote memorization by allowing students to interact more creatively with the information they are learning. I've struggled with this claim because we have yet to read about how exactly technology could be applied (I'm sure there is adequate literature, we just haven't gotten there yet). One of my biggest concerns is that the suggestion of technology is following a pattern (that seems to exist based on personal experiences - perhaps I'm making this up) of just sort of throwing technological advances and devices at problems and regarding them as the best possible solution without really considering their impact. For instance, sticking a computer into a classroom doesn't do much besides waste money if teachers aren't adequately informed as to how to integrate technology into a creative, problem based learning classroom. Below is a link to an article that gives a bit more concrete data on the use of technology in classrooms, as well as providing a discussion on some of the problems it could pose. This is certainly a cursory introduction and there is undoubtedly significantly more research that exists on the topic, but this answered some initial questions for me.
https://ed.stanford.edu/news/technology-can-close-achievement-gaps-and-improve-learning-outcomes
I have also been interested by this concept. It seems like without direct guidelines based around interactive learning, technology can serve as a real distraction in the classroom. I'm currently in Environment Biology and one thing we are required to learn, as it is geared towards Freshmen, is developing a system of study habits best suited for learning. Dr. Pardini strongly emphasizes that computers, when used for general purposes like note-taking (Mueller, PA and DM Oppenheimer. 2014. The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking. Psych Sci (2014): 0956797614524581), actually hinder the learner by offering modes of distraction not previously available. Therefore, she prohibits their use in her class. However, we also have registered "clickers" that allow all members of the class to answer questions she has on the board, and we discuss such issues with the people around us, reconvene, and discuss the correct solution after re-voting occurs. I find this dichotomy of technological possibilities very interesting in that, when only used in particular modes of interaction and deliberate purpose, technology can serve as advantageous; used differently and the effects are adverse. With great technological power comes great responsibility to learn properly I guess.
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