High Tech Classrooms/Going Off on a Tangent

I was watching the news on the weekend (which I rarely ever do) and I saw a segment about this school on Brisbane’s Bayside that supplied students with a wide variety of new (and many unheard of) tech devices that they could use for learning. At first, I thought this was great! What better way is there to prepare students for their future jobs and everyday practices where technology is all around them? However, as the segment continued and I saw more and more devices that students were using in class I started to question whether these devices were actually necessary (unless they want to be engineers or something).Yes, the technology used may engage the students, but are the essential concepts, skills and strategies for everyday life taught through these devices? Are these students sacrificing knowledge of the norm for knowledge of the high tech? In my opinion – there needs to be a balance and in this case I hope there is. Maybe some concepts, skills and strategies can be taught through the use of things like robots and the like, but things like environmental sustainability need to be experienced. Grow vegetable gardens! See the impacts that pollution has on the environment! Don’t forget that students still need to know how to write too – to use the regular old pen and paper.

Brittany also wrote about this news clip on her blog where she illustrates how valuable these high tech devices would be in classrooms. I agree with her opinion to a certain degree – the use of these devices in schools could be very effective but only if used to allow for beneficial and reasonable outcomes. This post on ‘The Guardian’ shows how sometimes using too much ICT for reasons other than those that enhance learning can be detrimental to a students’ view and enjoyment in technology.

Sorry for going off on a tangent but I had a lot to say 😉
Hayley.