The Disruptive Pencil
Now that you have read the article, please respond with your thoughts on banning the pencil from schools.
posted by Michael Pater at 6:44 AM
Now that you have read the article, please respond with your thoughts on banning the pencil from schools.
posted by Michael Pater at 6:44 AM
22 Comments:
Humor is a great way to get someone's attention. I think that Johnson makes some very important points with his humor.
Yes, IPod is on my wish list, however I have a mini and a nano and wished I had seen CFB presentation to know what to purchase and all the open source information. I am a little concern regarding going back to multiple platforms (i.e. PC and Macs).
Allowing students to use traditionally 'outside' technologies in the classroom is a great idea if we can find a way to allow equal access to all students and they are used to their fullest potential.
We need a blend of technologies in our schools. A pencil is a technology; it is a tool. But it is cheap and easily replaced. The newer technologies are expensive and not easily replaced and repaired. Funds do purchase computers and printers. But decision-makers do not consider repair or replacement.
Educators are by nature a self-flagellating lot and one of their favorite topics for abuse is life-long learning. Silly, really, when you think about it. Humans are always learning - taking in external stimuli and processing it in different ways. What the true concern is that people will take in stimuli and process them in ways which are useful, productive, and uplifting to themselves and the society in general
My guess is that this is where the fear or concern about technology arises. It's new and besides being by nature life-long learners, humans are also life-long resistant to change. The operative point of view is that if it is different from the way I did it, it can't be very good.
Probably the most important part of the article is that teachers need to become more familiar with the new technologies because in this case, familiatity will probably breed utility rather than contempt.
Which raises another issue. TEchnology is advancing so rapidly, what today is an innovation is tomorrow's old news. No sooner has one learned to adapt a new technology for student learning that it is eclipsed by the next innovation. How does one find the time to keep up with it all and the time to reflect and determine value and utility, which, of course, for Bentham were synonymous.
Anyway, yes, Virginia we are all life-long learners, and yes, we need to learn how new technologies can help others learn. We probably also ought to squirrel away some reflective time to discover what the inexorable advance of technology means for the definition of humanity. One of the things that frightened me most in reading Friedman, was the inevitability of failure of an enterprise which has as its goal to find ever faster and ever cheaper ways to produce and communicate. Think of Modern Times, but instead of working on an assembly line, Charley Chaplin is working at a computer which is producing faster than his ability to process and use. As the kids say on the way to Grandma's, "Are we there yet?"
We want students to have the latest and greatest; however, my techies say that intranet posting is the way to go so that we don't break federal laws. A kid might flikr a nude painting. Kids are still drawing those nude pix with their #2 pencil too, aren't they?
I am all for allowing students to utilize these new technologies in the classroom. I must say that I have had my own "issues" with the pencil recently. You see, my four year old, left-handed son is in the pre-k program, and he has been having a hard time with fine motor skills. We both have been frustrated to say the least; however, put him in front of a computer, and he is so comfortable, and he experiences success! Considering that he is only four, and he loves using the computer, I know we need to step up the technology in education, so his needs can be met in the future.
My first blogging - thanks
I agree with Sandy that teachers need EXPERIENCES with new technologies to develop comfort with them. Our kids (the digital natives) are "playing" all the time with these technology tools, that is how they gain proficiency with them.
As far as the concern for breaking federal laws and Flickr, I would wager that any kid who really wants to view a nude photo on a school network can find a way to do so. Flickr is better than google images, in my opinion, because the users who submit the images "tag" them. Maybe there is a keyword way to still restrict certain word searches on Flickr from the school network. My guess is this can be done. But it is always easier for IT departments to ban an entire website, rather than work out a way for objectionable content to be restricted while the acceptable content is still accessible.
I loved this article by Doug Johnson! :-)
As a person with an arthritic thumb, I would love to have pencils outlawed. One would have to consider; however, that there would be closet pencil users. Using this thought, probably there should be a slow transition for some. Have the pencils on the side - we can use them for log cabins later on down the road if they grow old from not being used. Meanwhile - we've got to save our children - not our pencils - and train our children for the future. Computers, ipods, blogs, wekiapedias - how fun can it get? What an exciting world!!!
The article was great!
I think there needs to be a balance. Obviously, we must keep the pencil. However, every classroom should incorporate the technologies available in today's market. If the students are using them, then the school needs to allow them. Schools need to be open-minded to all technology. Technology makes learning fun and relevant. Also, we are suppose to be preparing students for careers after education. Technolgy is definitely the way.
As a person who is not technology progressive myself, I find the possibilities for LEP students exciting and see great benefits in motivating students and empowering them to have future opportunities and successes in a fast changing society.
As a person who is not technology progressive myself, I find the possibilities for LEP students exciting and see great benefits in motivating students and empowering them to have future opportunities and successes in a fast changing society.
I wonder if some of the resistance to the use of emerging technologies in the schools comes from the same persons who want to control printed literature in the school library. A "political" agenda?
Doug Johnson is one of my favorite commentators on technology and libraries. He always gives me something to think about.
Denise is going to do a great job with blogs
The article is correct in that pencils are dangerous, however, I think that mechanical pencils should be allowed, but wooden pencils should be banned, unless the student has a permission letter from his parent. As far as IPods and cell phones, bring them in. I never heard of anyone getting stabbed with one! :)
I do agree that more technology should be used in the school, however I don't think that banning pencils it quite necessary. I think he makes some very good points, but there is a time and place for a pencil to be used and for a MP3 player to be used. I do think that some students work better while listening to music, but I also think that for some this is just one more distraction.
Like all good things there always needs to be some rules. I don't think completely banning ipods, cell phones, etc. is the way to go. We need to know how to use the technology that we have available.
Why not? As educators, we should find new ways to capture student attention. I feel that you must have an open mind when dealing with technology and our youth. Technology is a vital link to the learning environmnet of our students.
I believe all forms of technology can be a benefit in the classroom. Educators and administrators will have to constantly adjust to the changes, but that is just part of the life long learning process that we should be fostering. Technology is a part of our society and our children need to be creative and well adjusted to all new forms of technology. If we can help mold their minds on different positive uses for such innovations we can help create new horizons for them to explore. MP3 players would be a wonderful addition to classroom libraries; what a powerful way to share and model fluent reading with your students in your classroom library.
I thought the article was a humorous look at how we as teachers are afraid of change. That we can always find a reason not to try a new idea, but there are a lot of the same reasons that we couldn't use some of the paraphenalia that we use now.
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