tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101859138648955033.post5928860248313112077..comments2024-03-16T14:29:04.010-04:00Comments on Lance Strate's Blog Time Passing: Technological EquityLance Stratehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033954765699126246noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101859138648955033.post-48831875524220369642007-05-05T10:15:00.000-04:002007-05-05T10:15:00.000-04:00Thanks for adding these comments to my blog, and o...Thanks for adding these comments to my blog, and of course I don't mind having my comments reposted on the Equity and Technology blog, especially since that's where they started in the first place. Links, along with cut, copy, and paste operations, seem to be at the heart of the digital environment.<BR/><BR/>I do hear Postman's voice, though, saying "as if I'm having a conversation with you," that's better than calling it a conversation, because that would be what he dubbed "the demeaning of meaning."Lance Stratehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13033954765699126246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101859138648955033.post-9266194621344465142007-05-05T08:09:00.000-04:002007-05-05T08:09:00.000-04:00Thank you for your comment Lance. It was thoughtf...Thank you for your comment Lance. It was thoughtful and relevant. <BR/>I think that, in general, education systems are struggling with a lot of these questions. I appreciated the Postman anecdote… but you know as well as I do the difference between a pencil and digital text (this is what the Wesch video is all about).<BR/><BR/>However, there are undefined goals surrounding the application of technology in educational settings, especially at the pre-post-secondary level. Further, the assumptions of access to and reliance on technology in education are dangerous and may do more to create inequity to education. <BR/><BR/>Considering “appropriate applications” is essential, and is one of the things we discussed later in the day. Particularly for teachers; the issue of “do I have to use a PowerPoint to deliver a lesson that I could just as easily deliver without it?” Or “How can I use this or that software to enhance a learning experience?”<BR/><BR/>The factors you highlight: access, evaluation, assimilation, production, and interaction are essential when considering this new technology.<BR/><BR/>One of the things that I noted was that the whole novelty and motivating characteristics of computer technology is its personalized nature… It is very difficult to adapt a personalized technology into a setting that relies so much on standardized learning and educational outcome. One participant mused that the Internet represents chaos… and one of the goals of a traditional classroom is to eliminate chaos, and create a environment of uniformity and order. How do you reconcile these two things?<BR/><BR/>If you don’t mind I’m going to post your comment as a blog and reply to it as if I’m having a conversation with you… <BR/><BR/>Thanks again for taking the time and interest.equity and technologyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06574485348649444338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101859138648955033.post-52092449143510311282007-05-05T01:49:00.000-04:002007-05-05T01:49:00.000-04:00LanceYou bring out many salient points in your blo...Lance<BR/><BR/>You bring out many salient points in your blog discussing the issue of computers in the classroom. The use of computers within an educational environment certainly has it's place, but unfortunately I see an ever increasing use of the technology as a means for simplifying the educators mission.<BR/><BR/>For example, within the past few years there has been a noticalbe increase in the use of Powerpoint in lieu of lecture/discussion formats. Some instructors and professors simply run through the listing of verbal and pictorial images, often reading verbatim from the pre-prepared lecture.<BR/><BR/>Certainly there is a time and a place to utilize this technology, but in many instances I find that it interferes with the traditional student-teacher interchange and dialogue. Perhaps this is just an emergent factor from the MTV/VH1 generation where we have become more visual learners than auditory processors who have have begun to lose the skill to be able to listen and to think critically about issues. Additionally and unfortunately, an unintended result of this appears to show in the lack of writing skills that now permeate not only freshman works but also extend to the sophomore years and beyond. And, some dismay resides in some areas where professors/instructors simply read the content of their presentations to the exclusion of more contructive discussion of issues.<BR/><BR/>This trend has grown in the four years I have been an adjunct at Schenectady County Community College in NY. There is even a question about the instructors use of technology on student course evaluations. While the use of some technological aspects can enhance some presentations, I've seen too much emphasis placed on this mode of teaching to the exclusion and loss of time for more interactive exchanges of ideas within the classroom environment.<BR/><BR/>Whenever a video, cd rom images, etc. are presented as part of a lecture, it is quite noticeable that students' attention shows a boost compared to lecture and discussion presentations, again most likely stemming from the 10's of thousands of hours that children grow up watching television or being transfixed with their video games and internet fixations.<BR/><BR/>In retrospect, it appears that those of us that attended school prior to the computer revolution graduated significantly more knowledeable and more prepared for critical thinking and social adeptness than many students demonstrate today.<BR/><BR/>Of course, I have my thoughts about on-line courses, but that is for discussion at some other time.<BR/><BR/>Sincerely,<BR/><BR/>Martin Friedman, MS<BR/>Schenectady County Community College<BR/>Adjunct IIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com