How much genuine value is there in fancy educational electronics? Don’t let companies or politicians fool you, says columnist Michael Hiltzik.
This is a really important and interesting topic right now as corporations control not only our politicians but also our education? Technology in the classroom is important, of course, but it’s quickly getting out of hand and not proving to be so helpful after all. We’re falling behind more and more, faster and faster, and we think putting iPads in kids’ hands is the fix?
“There’s certainly an important role for technology in the classroom. And the U.S. won’t benefit if students in poor neighborhoods fall further behind their middle-class or affluent peers in access to broadband Internet connectivity or computers. But mindless servility to technology for its own sake, which is what Duncan and Genachowski are promoting on behalf of self-interested companies like Apple, will make things worse, not better.”
The NYTimes also ran a story like this last month, about Idaho teachers fighting against a law requiring high school students to take online classes. Which of course winds up being more expensive, which will cut teachers’ salaries and which…has not proven to be beneficial to students, and is decided by administrators and without opinion or consent from teachers. What?
It’s interesting - read it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/04/technology/idaho-teachers-fight-a-reliance-on-computers.html?_r=1
(Source: Los Angeles Times)
