Too Many Gizmos?

Welsh, P. (2008).  A school that's too high on gizmos.  The Washington Post.  Retrieved from 

   http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020803271.html

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Summary

T. C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA was brand new in September 2007.  It was one of the most expensive high schools ever built, and much money was spent to make it one of the most technologically advanced.  Teachers have access to nearly any technology they could want, whether it helps teach students or not.  Which is exactly the problem.  Teachers have been told they cannot use traditional methods of teaching, and teachers now feel that they are being measured by how paperless they can be rather than how well they can teach.  Teachers are expected to change how they teach, even if they don't need to, to fit the new technology into their lessons.  This expectation to use technology is not only affecting the older teachers, who we refer to as "digital immigrants". Younger teachers complain that the technology is there to make the school look "cutting edge" rather than help kids learn optimally. Sadly, human interactions are also suffering at T. C. Williams because of technology. Because of the large amount of e-mail interaction teachers compare T. C. to a correspondence school "where all communication is faceless".  Technology is good when it enhances learning, but at T. C. WIlliams High School it has become a distraction as well as an obstacle to relationships.

Reaction

The situation at T. C. Williams High School is a sad one.  With so much money being spent on technology, it should improve the education of students.  There is so much great technology available to help teachers more effectively reach kids.  But technology for the sake of making administrators look good is a mistake.  Teachers need to be free to incorporate technology into their lessons when it improves the way they are teaching.  Once it becomes a hassle and a burden to them, it's no longer an advancement.  Too much technology can even become a hindrance, if it obscures the lesson that is to be learned.

In addition, one key thing that happens in schools is relationship building.  Relationships between teachers and students, staff members, and administrators affect everything that happens in a school.   So much learning happens at school that is about the interactions between people.  If technology is being used to communicate instead of face-to-face interactions, the chance to relate to one another is lost.  With it, social learning is lost.

I am a supporter of technology when it improves a lesson, and I hope to be able to incorporate technology often into my teaching.  I just hope I'm never put into a situation where using technology becomes a burden and negatively affects what I am trying to accomplish.