Journal 9

Journal 9
Are Schools Inhibiting 21st Century Learning?
Dave Nagel

The article poses the question of whether or not schools are training students for careers and future jobs. The teacher’s claim they are doing an efficient job, while the students feel teachers and administrators are limited the use of technology too much.

Question 1) How would implementing educational games help my students in world history?
I have tried several ways to study for tests, and I find that different approaches work for different students. Some like taking notes from the board, others like to converse, and some others learn more by studying on their own. If there is one thing in common all my students enjoy it is technology. It seems that every one of my students has an IPOD and a cell phone. I think technology will help keep the enthusiasm at a higher level. The students like playing games, and making education more fun would be more effective.

Question 2) how would a laptop help students perform better in the classroom?
I have a review test coming up when the students and I told my students to bring their old notes to class. Obviously, my good students all had their notes from first semester, but my students who are struggling, the students who need the most help threw the work away. If we had laptops to use the students could simply save their work on their hard drive or to a disk so that retrieval would be much easier. Also, it would be much easier to send homework to students.

Question 3) Do we lose anything with technology?
The article mentions the use of graphing calculators. It has been a long time since I was in a math class, but I remember relying on my calculator very much. Years ago, before the technological age, people had to learn math in their head. They could do it on the spot without the use of electronic equipment. I just can’t help but think that the mind loses and gains in terms of new technology.