Monday, February 02, 2009

Technology causes decline in critical thinking???


Is Technology Producing A Decline In Critical Thinking And Analysis?

Here's my question: Is it technology that is producing a decline in critical thinking or is it the way that educators are utilizing technology that is producing the decline in critical thinking??

In our After-School Academy, I teach a technology class. Last semester the kids were tasked with creating/designing the pages for the cookbook utilizing Microsoft Publisher. I challenged them to think about the different categories of food and find clip art and internet pictures that would fit in those categories. They were insistent about creating their own recipes to include. They figured out how to make colored text boxes, make their words into WordArt, and download pictures from the internet, and then taught each other their new skills (in fact, there were several times where I had to ask them to show me what they were doing and how they did it). The kids have also blogged and created their own photoshows.

The problem isn't the kids. The problem isn't the technology. The problem is those of us who are older, didn't grow up with technology, and don't know (or care) how to utilize it. We are the ones who are putting our kids at a disadvantage.

I know some amazing educators who are writing grants and implenting innovative uses of Google Earth, Google Maps, blogging, etc. into their classrooms. But I also know educators who refuse to try anything new and school districts who block every website possible, fearing the unknown. For some kids, the only technology they receive is practicing taking standardized tests on the computer. That has become the schools' way of tapping into the kids' interest in technology.

The graduate students (future teachers) and professors' I encounter who resist and refuse technology amaze (and frustrate) me. Their resistance and refusal to utilize it puts the children in their classrooms and our future at risk.

Technology (and much of it is free, once you have access to the internet) has opened doors of communication and innovation. We can email, text, IM, Twitter, and blog. We can utilize social networking sites, play games with someone from the other side of the world, create videos, adjust photos, and create our own website. Within seconds, we can view countries we can't afford to visit and have access to any kind of information for any question we might have. It even allows us to communicate with the parents of our school children through email or text messages--a direct line of communication that wasn't available 10 years ago.

Technology is not going away. We can dig our heels in, resist it, and find every way to tell the world that technology is damaging our children's minds. OR We can dive in, incorporate it into our everyday lives, and help ourselves and our children move into the future.

What are some innovative ways you use technology? What are some free sites (or reasonably priced software) you would recommend and how do you utilize them? I would love to know what's out there so I can utilize it and pass the info on to other parents, kids, and teachers.

5 comments:

Ms. Embry said...

Sometimes I think teachers might be open to using more technology, but if their school struggles to even keep a decent network connection and a computer newer than 8-10 years old in the classroom, then they are not too motivated to try to implement these fascinating new things. Others, as you mentioned, are just completely resistant. Instead of seeing technology as something that can reach their students in new ways, they see it as a hassle. Districts swamp their teachers with so much documentation, so much TAKS junk, etc. that the idea of investing time (which would have to be their own personal time really) into acquiring these skills seems totally unappealing. I know some teachers get frustrated that just as soon as they learn something and start using it, its almost out of date. I say none of this to justify the resistance, but just to share some of the thought processes I have observed.

The recent movement in education has been to make it more practical, to have real-life applications, and for students to be able to apply content to problem-solving situations. To use technology means that students will have to synthesize and analyze knowledge and skills, which are the two highest forms of critical thinking. If your view of technology does not extend beyond email, this is going to be difficult to see. I agree that this is one of the most crucial ways we're debilitating our students' futures...especially our students in areas like ours who do not have the technology at home like their peers in more affluent areas. By not giving them the technology skills they will need to compete, we are crippling them even further!!

Anonymous said...

Janet you seem to be in accord with Parker Palmer's thoughts as
demonstrated in the quote:
"Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher."

It shows a great deal of integrity to approach a new area of learning as individuals and educators when we know that a greater good for our neighbors could be served when we try to bring new concepts and tools to the table. We all have learned to value mastery but have over valued perfection to the point that we protect our images against critique at all cost by not wading out into the waters on faith. We want to show our children how to begin to develop new learning muscles in areas foreign to them, so that they understand that even the masters had to start at the beginning.

Kudos for your beginning and I will ask around about resources for you.

Janet Morrison-Lane said...

Thanks, BBeau! I look forward to hearing about any new resources. And, yes, I am a fan of Parker Palmer...though I haven't read his stuff in several years. I think I'm going to revisit him...thanks for the tip!

Anonymous said...

Check out this resource.
http://www.thinkfinity.org/
I found it on the other website that I emailed to you.

Janet Morrison-Lane said...

refresh my memory, BBeau. Which website did you email me?? I'm afraid I may have overlooked it...or just forgot! :)