The piece jumps straight out of the comments to a recent post on cell phones in school over on Change.org. (Cell phones have been a big topic this week, probably stemming from Arnie's comments earlier this month). A firestorm erupted in the change.org piece's comments when the author stated her personal preference that phones, laptops, and other pretty standard-issue 21st century mobile devices be left outside her classroom.
It would seem to be pretty innocuous if it weren't for the reasoning given for this preference (as well as the ultimate logical outcome of what it means in terms of the shifting models of authority in present day connected classrooms). But, I'll let you read the post, the comments, and Ira's piece to figure out where all this went.
Let's just say, one of Socol's comments to the original piece sums up one side of the debate quite nicely:
Why do your rights as a teacher trample mine as a student? Why must I function with the media and tools which make you happy? And why would you, as a teacher, refuse to help me learn the information and communication tools which I will use for the rest of my life?
This blog post really shows where the battle lines are drawn in education. For the most part you are either FOR tech in the classroom or AGAINST.
ReplyDeleteI am all FOR technology in the classroom. Those are the tools that my students will be using for the rest of their lives. If we do not prepare our students for what they will face once they leave K-12 education then we have failed as teachers.
Those that believe technology should be left outside the classroom need to find another job.