October 2005 — Special Reports
Print this articleClick here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal
Teachers Talk Tech
“Is technology improving test scores? With so many changing variables in educational technology, it’s hard to tell exactly what’s happening,” says Lorri Saracini, a K-5 math focus teacher at Gardner Magnet School (AR). “If my school buys laptops, will test scores automatically go up? Only if the laptops are used for instruction—and carefully designed instruction at that.”
One thing that is missing from the training equation is the development of classroom management skills. For instance, teachers need to provide a set of rules for their children, model computer use, and give students a realistic list of learning expectations.
Finding the Right Balance
It comes as no surprise that 1-1
computing remains a popular, if
unobtainable,goal in the nation’s
public schools.More than half of
K-12 teachers support 1-to-1 as
the ideal ratio of students to
computers, with nearly another
third favoring 1-to-5.
While 60 percent of teachers believe that students’ academic performance improves with the use of classroom computers, just 38 percent say they have the right balance of computers to students in their classrooms. But CDW•G’s survey indicates that computer access is not just a numbers game. Closing the gap between administrative and instructional use also appears to be a question of where the computers are located.
Successful learning is a complex blend of creative problem-solving and organizational ability. Since everyone learns differently, time management and study skills are not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Therefore, 1-1 access to wireless computers—an optimum scenario— assures that students are poised for action when a teachable moment occurs.
Some schools are addressing the problem with handheld devices and tablet PCs.But as industry and higher education move toward the anytime-anywhere computing model, many K-12 school districts are being left behind.
“You can’t really do anything with four or five computers in your classroom,” says Matthew Dykty, a fourth-grade teacher at Maureen M.Welch Elementary School (PA). His preference is for multiple carts with wireless computers as a convenient, cost-effective,and space-saving alternative.
Teachers view computers as an effective classroom tool for teaching reading and writing skills, conducting math drills, and developing the ability to think critically. Computers and the Internet engage and motivate digital-age children, challenge gifted children, provide opportunities for remediation and practice, and expand students’ views of the world. For instance, “children can hear famous speeches that were delivered before they were born,”says Kris Kidder, a K-3 teacher at Richards Elementary School (NH).
