For years, the writers of this blog have started from the
assumption that online education, i.e. using technology as the conduit for
learning, is beneficial. Is that assumption valid?
New York Times opinion writer Jessica
Grose recently published a series of articles that challenge that
assumption, that question whether the use of technology in the classroom
(devices and software) actually helps students learn. What she discovered in
her research for the articles is eye-opening, and ultimately hopeful.
The series of articles starts with Screens
are Everywhere in Schools. Do They Actually Help Kids Learn?, which suggests
that “[w]e need to start asking better questions about what kinds [of
technology] work for teachers and students.” Poll data confirms that post-Covid,
K-12 teachers are relying on laptops and iPads as part of the education
environment more and more. Some require students to submit their homework
electronically. Some use online content to provide additional challenge or
tutoring support to individual students who would benefit for this special
attention. Some use computers as a babysitter / behavior management device. Many
students are in front of screens all the time they are in school, except when
at recess or eating lunch. Grose ends this article with a series of questions
for her readers, parents and educators, about their experiences with technology
use in the classroom.
In Get
Tech Out of the Classroom Before It’s Too Late, Grose concludes that “[t]he
ubiquity of screens is bad for teachers, students and society.” The author
received over 900 responses to her questionnaire, which documented that many
students are watching YouTube videos or playing video games rather than paying
attention to the lesson while on their school-provided devices, often with age-inappropriate
content. She also learned that many K-12 students do all their reading and
writing on devices, with no requirement or opportunity to touch actual books or
practice handwriting. The method of providing educational content via video often
mimics a TV show or YouTube video to capture the students’ attention, making it
difficult for the students to pay attention to a teacher giving a talk or to
engage in collaborative discussion. It also reduces the need for students to
think critically or creatively.
The next article in the series, Most
Teachers Know They’re Playing With Fire When They Use Tech in the Classroom,
moves to a more optimistic perspective, suggesting that “many of them
[teachers] know how not to get burned.” She gives examples of ways in which
technology in the classroom affirmatively helps the learning process. It allows
for individualized teaching and assessment, meeting the student at their level
of knowledge and targeting lessons to the skills/content that this student needs
to learn. Some teachers have devised strategies to monitor what the students
are accessing on their devices, reducing the opportunity to avoid learning by
watching videos or playing games.
The final article in the series, Every
Tech Tool in the Classroom Should Be Ruthlessly Evaluation, supports the
benefits of using tech in the classroom, but cautions that “[s]creens in K-12
schools need a ‘hard reset’.” The author suggests that educators should be
taking the lead on which tech is available in school and how or when it’s used.
This would be a change from the current situation where the tech companies
provide the devices and install the software and internet access limitations
(if any). The author has three suggestions.
·
At the state and federal levels, ensure that
students’ privacy is protected while using technology, and require independent evaluations
of digital education product quality.
·
At the school district level, centralize the
decision-making about the use of technology in the classroom, perhaps creating
a director of information security position.
·
At the classroom level, teachers should do a
tech audit of their classroom, evaluate its specific functions and frequency of
use, and retain only the tech products that serve the teacher’s educational
mission.
Of course, this series of articles focused on the use of
technology in classrooms. Online learning, by definition, requires the use of technology
for delivery of the educational content. Maybe we educators need to think more
carefully about whether and when to require our online students to step away
from the screen and absorb information in a different format?
