While this video is cute, it also gives us a glimpse of the future. Children who have never known a world without computers, electronic gadgets and games, but how healthy is all of this "virtual reality" and why are we so set on thinking of technology as a measure of education and achievement?
Do we think that knowing how to use a calculator makes someone a math wizard?
Do we think knowing how to use spell check makes us better communicators?
We can't even say for sure that the metorologists on television are any better at predicting the weather based on what type of radar system their station tell us they own, can we?
Did our kids get smarter when the "white-board" replaced the blackboard in our classrooms? Then why would an expensive "smartboard" be any different?
Warning: an Economic Divide
A post in the Atlanta Journal today even warns us that technology may even create a bigger problem for school districts, like ours here in DeKalb County, where there is a gap in the economic levels of students.
If the cell towers that we might soon see going up at 8 of our lower income schools are truly educational in purpose, then is that a sign that our school board is leading us down a path of e-books, mobile homework submission and virtual classrooms?
Will they be using our tax dollars to fund an "I-Pad in every child's hands?" And, if so, how will our already poor performing, lower income "Title I" students do when they have the added distraction of a new computer to play with?
How will the rest of their household react to having an I-Pad to "play" with when it is really intended for the child to use for school work?
Has our board investigated other similar districts who have tried this solution to their educational problems? Or, are we, once again, expecting our children to be the guinea pigs? The RF radiation from a cell tower overhead can be expected to cause insomnia, memory problems, confusion and other issues for as much as 35 - 50% of the kids at a cell tower school.
What about Lakeside?
Meanwhile, Lakeside High School, the school that was reported by board members to have been the original requestor for the cell towers to help them with their coverage problems, is yet to receive a signed contract OR an FCC license for a tower.
We've suspected all along that they needed Brairlake Elementary School to receive a tower because they knew they would really not be getting one of their own. And, since cell towers decrease property values, we aren't surprised that the other schools around Lakeside will be getting towers as a means to continue to help this overpriced community justify their sky-high mortgage rates.
Here's an excerpt from the article from the AJC's Maureen Downey. As you read it, think about whether or not this is the right direction for DeKalb County. And, please remember the children when you plan to vote July 31. Help us keep cell towers off school grounds by voting no on the ballot question and voting against the incumbants who brought cell towers to our schools in the first place, like Paul Womack, District #6.
Get Schooled - Gadgets Waste Time for Some Kids More than Others
3:01 am May 31, 2012, by
Full text here:
http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2012/05/31/new-digital-divide-lower-income-kids-waste-more-time-with-their-gadgets/
(Click link above for full article as well as a link to the NY Times piece.)
Excerpt below:
When technology first began to infiltrate American childhoods, there were fears of a digital divide; children from lower-income families would not have access to the emerging new technologies because of the cost and thus fall behind their more affluent peers whose families could afford cell phones, computers and video game systems.
However, now that access to cell phones and other electronics is widespread, there are fears of a new divide: Poorer kids are wasting more time on their assorted electronic and computer gadgets than more affluent peers.
“Despite the educational potential of computers, the reality is that their use for education or meaningful content creation is minuscule compared to their use for pure entertainment,” said Vicky Rideout, author of a decade-long Kaiser study on online patterns, in a New York Times story on the issue. “Instead of closing the achievement gap, they’re widening the time-wasting gap.”
Closing the digital divide is not improving the educational outcomes of low-income kids, in part because their families have the least ability to monitor their usage of electronics or limit their time.
These issues are important to understand as we are increasingly urged to expand online education options for students, even elementary-age children.
But all children, regardless of income, have come to largely see computer and electronics as entertainment. The challenge is recasting technology as an educational tool.
However, now that access to cell phones and other electronics is widespread, there are fears of a new divide: Poorer kids are wasting more time on their assorted electronic and computer gadgets than more affluent peers.
“Despite the educational potential of computers, the reality is that their use for education or meaningful content creation is minuscule compared to their use for pure entertainment,” said Vicky Rideout, author of a decade-long Kaiser study on online patterns, in a New York Times story on the issue. “Instead of closing the achievement gap, they’re widening the time-wasting gap.”
Closing the digital divide is not improving the educational outcomes of low-income kids, in part because their families have the least ability to monitor their usage of electronics or limit their time.
These issues are important to understand as we are increasingly urged to expand online education options for students, even elementary-age children.
But all children, regardless of income, have come to largely see computer and electronics as entertainment. The challenge is recasting technology as an educational tool.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We want to know what you think. Leave your respectful comments here!