Classroom Dilemma - Finding the Balance Between Tech and Textbooks
Thirty million dollars has been allocated for computer technology at schools in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Unfortunately those computers are about as useful as a 5 minute seminar on cutting edge IT security, hosted by Big Bird -- simply because most teachers and students don't have the skills to utilize the technology.
Next timeyou're in the jungle, try this: Dangle a string of strong plasticbananas, filled with heavy, sweet-scented banana-flavored syrup,from a treetop. Wait for the monkeys. Watch their frenzied,frustrated reactions.
It's a stretch, perhaps, but a pretty good analogy of what'sgoing on in Louisville, Ky.'s, public schools. The $30 millionallocated for computer technology in the Jefferson County schoolsystem is in place, but a recent study reveals that the computersare collecting some dust -- simply because most teachers andstudents just don't have the skills to use the technology.
The report also states that up to 60 to 75 percent of teachersdo not regularly use technology in their classrooms -- numbersthat must change, according to which side of the fence you'reon.
"Taxpayers spent billions getting computers and Internet intoclassrooms," yet "many are not being used instructionally," saysRandy Bell, a University of Virginia education professor.
A fair argument. But not everyone believes technology evenbelongs in the classroom. Physics teacher Brent McKim, who headsthe Jefferson County Teachers Association, believes the classroom environment can become too dependent on technology, and that "noteachers should ever be required to integrate technology" intheir classrooms.
The difficulty with 21st century education is in finding the best balance to satisfy everyone --never aneasy task. This summer, the school system is doubling the numberof teachers being trained in technology to 1,000. They will alsoprovide 300 educators in 34 schools with laptops and projectors,hoping to help bring a more "theatre-like" atmosphere to theclassroom in which all students can learn at the same time, asopposed to individual textbooklearning.
Students will also be able to access a new website designed toprovide them with links to 5,000 curriculum-related sites. Theproblem is, however, that many students (and teachers) just don'tknow how to access them. While playing games, e-mailing, anddownloading music is a breeze for most kids, navigating throughsites to find resources for study is an entirely newterritory.
Tests in 2004 showed that 57 percent of the Jefferson district'shigh school students were proficient in skills such askeyboarding, spreadsheets and Internet use. If educators want toreach their goal, at 80 percent, they'll need to have to turnplastic ideas and theories into the real, hands-on banana.
