The technology skeptic’s argument in chapter 3 was less convincing than the supporter’s chapter. In the beginning of the chapter when the quotes from different decades of teaching were presented I thought that that was only hurting their point. In the 1815 quote when a principal was expressing his dissatisfaction about students not being able to use slates properly and depending too much on paper, I became convinced that technology needs to be applied in classroom settings. The time periods of the quotes show how quickly new items were integrated into classrooms once given an opportunity. If something is beneficial to learning why shouldn’t we apply it in our classroom? I can’t decide if the chapter was actually skeptics trying to convince people of their point or if it was technology supporters trying to write from a skeptic’s point of view.
In the book one particular quote really made me stop and think. “Although computers can open up new ways of teaching and learning, they can also be used to replace typewriters and file cabinets in schools dedicated to preserving a paper-and-text culture.” I never thought that schools were actually using typewriters still! The only time I have ever seen a typewriter is in my grandmother’s basement, and even she is computer literate today. Even if the skeptics think that schooling should “inspire students to understand the great products of human thought, think deeply about issues,” and “consider different viewpoints” who is to say that technology can’t be incorporated into those goals? In my classroom I will not use technology for every topic being taught. I will likely incorporate it into my everyday teachings however as a support for what students will be learning. I see technology as a tool that will be helping support learning rather than replacing it. Every student’s needs may be able to be addressed more effectively by using technology in the classroom.
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