Some technology schools should stop buying TODAY
Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 05:52AM 
For about as long as I can remember I have carried a Swiss Army knife in my pocket with my change. It has a small blade less than an inch and a half long, a screwdriver blade/file, a small pair of scissors, a toothpick, and tweezers.
My understanding is that actual members of the Swiss Army can use such a knife to kill an enemy in a dozen different ways, but I use mine primarily for opening boxes, trimming my finger nails, and cutting tags off things.
None of the tools is as good as having a dedicated tool. The scissors are small; the screwdriver is hard to use; the tweezers are flimsy. But each tool can do the job - and the tool is actually there, in my pocket, when I need it.
OK, I am getting to my point. I had to shake my head when I read Gary Stager's post "Cameras for the Classroom" in which he recommends four models of digital cameras for the classroom ranging in price from $645 (list price over $1,100) to $95. "Every class should have a few of these [$151 model] babies!," he exhorts.
Why? Perhaps a school may need one or two of the models that are specialized for outdoor use. The high school photography class can justify using digital SLR cameras. But to have third graders shoot examples of triangles in nature or for middle school students to document signs of economic problems in the community to put in a slideshow or for high school kids to create a video demonstrating a cooking technique - for 99.9% of the uses we ask kids to make of cameras and photography, the camera in the phone or tablet works great. It is simple - and it's there.
Schools should be asking themselves why they should spend $151 on a camera that only shoots digital stills and video and requires a separate device (computer) to edit the images, when for a few dollars more, they can purchase a tablet* that not only takes pictures and video, but edits them and serves a multitude of other functions as well? Really, just how many megapixels does that fifth grader need?
I would question not just the need for stand alone cameras. Tablets are on the verge of replacing:
- Interactive white boards (Apple TV or Reflection will project the iPad screen on which the student or teacher can display work.)
- Student response systems. (PollEverwhere, Socrative, and GoSoapBox are among the programs that use tablets or cellphones instead of "clickers."
- Document cameras. Point the tablet camera at the object and project. iPad stands are under $20.
- Graphing calculators. Use an app.
- GPS systems. Built into phones and tablets.
- Labs. Unless one doing high end video editing or copious amounts of keyboarding, who needs a desktop or full-sized keyboard? List three features in Word that you'd miss if you only used GoogleDocs.
And the thing is, a lot of kids already have these devices, know how to use them, and will happily bring them to school if allowed to do so. Schools can focus their tech spending on devices for kids whose families can't afford them - and kids get to use what they personally know and like. Win - win - win.
Are we selling kids short by offering them a "Swiss Army knife" approach to educational technology? No. The trade between a few, high-powered devices seldom used and ubiquitous, multi-function devices that are always available, is a no-brainer. Go for access.
What is your school no longer buying? Textbooks? Printers? Pencil sharpners?
*GoogleNexus tablets are $199
Reader Comments (28)
Very interesting blog - and you have some good points there too. Is the technology the focus or is the goal/objective the focus? Does the school have a clear vision of what they want to accomplish with Education Technology? Or is the school just buying it because it was given book money by the government and will let the technology sit and collect dust? Is the school going to provide ADEQUATE training for the teachers AND administrators? The school should first decide what it wants to accomplish then search for the technology that will help the school accomplish its goals. Technology is a tool - and it should be used that way - and not just as a novelty.
I can honestly say in the blog post there are a few things missing. Can a tablet do these things yes but are you missing the point of what the dedicated tool can do for you yes. You can not replace a IWB with a tablet. You are missing valuable software, features, the ability to work with students on gross motor skills and dexterity, and more, there is not enough space here to talk about all the features. How can clickers be replaced by an online polling site like you mentioned? I have used most of these at some point because I do believe in the use of free sites and software. But the free versions let you do quick formative assessments but if you want to "good stuff" you need to pay. So why do that because when you look at what you are going to pay monthly or yearly you are going to catch up to the clickers real quick. And there are companies such as SMART that has an online clicker system with Response VE. And VE does a ton more when it comes to the valuable data and options that these websites can never touch. As for GPSs on phones or tablets. I am not sure which miracle phone you have used but I have been teaching GPS in Education for 6 years now. And if you want to teach kids how to get from A to B then yes the phone will work. But if you want to work with them on say Geocaching nothing can replace a hand held GPS. The accuracy of a phone is no where in comparison when you are trying to nail down an exact location. Are the phones getting better, yes but they are not there right now.
Right now there is too much of this "tablets are saving education". They are not what they are is the next step in education. They are a good additional tool in the Swiss Army Knife. I should know. I am in a school that has all these tools you mentioned that are being "replaced" by tablets and I have tablets for 450 kids in my building along with 650 netbooks for the other kids. I am a 1 to 1 school with 1100 kids in a very low income community. We have SMARTboards in every room. Every device is a clicker, we have document cameras in every room, along with student amplification systems. So yes I believe all these tools working together makes for a great learning environment.
The issue here is not what should schools stop buying it is why are schools not giving the proper PD to allow for all these tools to be used correctly and together. That is the issue.
I understand what you are saying about the Swiss Army Knife. Sometimes all-in-one things aren't specific enough. You have strong opinions about IWBs,as do those who have commented. There are plenty of people that don't use the IWB for it's intended purpose. I wonder if there has been adequate training for the teachers. I wonder if after the training support has been offered to those teachers to develop those skills. I wonder if after the training, the teachers have used the training effectively. At the end of a day, an IWB, camera, and tablet are great tools but they can't think on their own. They are only a way to deliver information. The same way that Play-do and Legos are great tools that can be used in a classroom, but they are only tools. Why are the tools that have no human ability being blamed for their lack of use? Why isn't the focus on the human to find a way to make them a valuable tool for delivery?
While I value the iPads that are in my classroom, they do not in ANY way replace my SMART Board, SMART Response XE clickers, or SMART document camera. Here is why:
1. Students are not able to collaborate on the iPad the same way they can at the SMART board. Difference interactions take place when students are using the different devices. Up at the SMART board, groups of students are able to interact with the material and activities presented, and bring multiple perspectives to the conversation to enhance the overall understanding for all students. Being able to have multiple students manipulate the items on the SMART board at the same time is incredibly powerful. iPads are the most useful as personal devices, and while they CAN be used for collaboration, it isn't at the degree that the SMART board facilitates.
2. Using SMART Response clickers provides a multitude of opportunities to collect data from my students in various situations. I use clickers in my chemistry class for not only quizzing, but group creation, voting, and formative and summative assessment reasons. The reports generated from the data are easy to understand, and super powerful. No app can replace this.
3. My document camera is used not only for projecting items, but as a way to manipulate 3D objects, which can'e be done with the iPad camera. In science, it is crucial to understand objects in 3 dimensions, since the items I teach about are invisible to the naked eye, and the students have no concrete experience to draw from. Being able to manipulate a 3D model of carbon tetrachloride while discussing it's geometrical properties is a critical step to student understanding. Since this is projected on the SMART Board for the whole class to experience at once, we can have a good discussion as a class, and increase everyone's overall understanding.
Like I stated, iPads are also valuable in my classroom, but not as a replacement item. Each piece of educational technology used by my students has a different instructional goal.
I like the idea of students using their own devices at the secondary level, but that is (probably) not a realistic approach for elementary students. Also, what seems pointless/meaningless (like students wondering around taking pictures of things) can be very meaningful and memorable to the students. (I still remember how effective extra credit was for me when I could tell my teacher where I heard a spelling word. I would've never remembered those words without that real world experience.) With this kind of learning, students are able to use their strengths when it comes to learning style no matter how they learn best. Also, students collaborating using the IWB board because of the size and ability to share in a group vs one student taking control of the tablet while the others wait or do nothing.
With that said, I believe what is most crucial is providing the TEACHERS with the support they need to introduce this technology. Many times, teachers are given a hardware/software, sit through 1 training on it, then expected to go back and use it properly. This is not realistic. Teachers need to be supported and allowed to master a hardware and not just left in the dark. Students will figure it out, but if a teacher isn't comfortable with technology they aren't going to 'figure it out' or they just don't have the time to do it with all of the other requirements they have to meet.
I could not disagree more! I am a long time user of interactive products in the classroom and the amount of class engagement as amazing when the technology is used appropriately. I use the Interactive Whiteboard from SMART daily in just about all subjects as a multimedia platform. Students can view videos, hear songs and view content with a punch.
This address multiple modes and learning styles, consistent with the positive impacts discovered in brain research. The lessons are introduced and students are able to work with the technology independently. Since I am an elementary school teacher in first grade, stand along tech is not the only answer for us. Students need direct instruction. In my dream classroom, I will have tablets or other devices for students to use independently, but that will be in conjunction with the other technology.
I think what it really boils down to in the end is not the technology, but whose hands is the tech in!
I do not believe that the question should necessarily be whether or not schools should stop buying technology, but rather the question should be whether or not schools are willing to make the commitment to support and train on any of their technology purchases.
I have seen, on far too many occasions, schools who have been more than willing to buy technology, but then completely drop the ball where it comes to installation (where needed), training and most importantly the continued support of these products -- to include software updates, new bulbs for projectors, computer issues. etc.
I have seen tremendous "collections" of wonderful new technology sitting in back rooms of schools and businesses simply because someone decided it was a great idea to buy it...but they were either never told that someone might need to know how to work with it or they simply were untrained and did not realize what they were doing (and I am being nice here.)
If you were asking whether or not we should purchase new interactive white boards, projection systems and software for every teacher at a school, I would ask you to reconsider the question. I propose that we ask whether we should invest in this technology for all of our students, not simply as yet another "tool" for a teacher. When an amazing product, such as the new SMART Board 885i5 from SMART Technologies is purchased for a school, it most certainly will be placed in a classroom for a teacher to use. If that teacher is properly trained, given time and support to learn how to truly change the way lessons are delivered, and then that product and everything associated with it are properly supported so that teachers will have faith in the technology, then I submit that this is a fantastic investment and measurable results will be nearly immediate. Engagement will increase exponentially. Student participation and active collaborative learning will be real, and as such learning and, dare I say "scores" will go up too.
Now, if the thought is to continue to purchase new technology because it seems like the right thing to do and then not have in place the systems for training, support and maintenance, then I would say it is best to hold off on that purchase.
When I am asked to appear at a school to deliver a presentation on a new product, and then I hear someone say, "Oh, that's what that thing is. We have 6 of them in the back room, but nobody knew what to do with them," I cringe.
Find the leaders and innovators at your school. Support them, encourage them and let them continue to lead and be innovators, but do not drop the ball. As soon as that trust is broken, the trust that they will be able to count on their technology to work as it should, when it should, then it too will become one more item for the "back room."
OK, it's looking like responses to this post have become:
- a class assignment
- a conspiracy by IWB manufacturers
- Gary Stager's revenge
Anywho, the number, belatedness, uniformity and anonymity of the these past ten comments or so are such that I suspect this not a conversation of impartial educators but some sort of concerted effort.
So maybe I'm paranoid. But just because one is paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
Comments are closed.
Doug