No Choice Will Richardson's Blog

Will Richardson’s Blog
No Choice

This particular blog talks about the challenges that schools face right now with this generation of kids really not having a choice about technology. What he is saying is that technology use to be an add-on in our lives, a choice, but now it is becoming a necessity. In order to function in our day to day lives we must know how to use all the latest gadgets and technology.

He goes on to mention how all too often technology opportunities are being blocked and filtered away in schools instead of made a basic part of the curriculum. He states, “Right now, most schools are making what I think is a bad choice by not immersing their students into these online learning environments which are creating all sorts of opportunities for us to learn.”

I agree that schools do seem to do this but I do not feel schools are necessarily making a mistake by doing this. My fear for our students is that proper grammar, spelling and handwriting skills will be no more. I see so many kids who can type a great paper but ask that same kid to hand write the paper without spell check or any other computer aide and you might be horrified at what you see. There are a large number of kids who can barely write a legible note or paper let alone spell anything correctly. They have become to dependant upon computers to do the writing and the spelling for them. I think educators really need to look at this problem. Yes technology is something schools should incorporate into the classrooms but we need to be careful of how dependant we become with it.


What’s Changed?

In this blog Mr. Richardson talks about how difficult changes are and how ingrained traditional practice continues to be in schools. He then asks the question, “What has really changed in your school?” He is referring to technology. The system seems to be resistant to change. Richard Halverson and Allan Collins discuss three ways that schools deal with innovative technologies. “First, they condemn them, they co-opt them to support tried and true methods and curriculum, and, finally, they marginalize them, creating all of those “tinkering on the edges” initiatives to keep the reform minded happy.”

I would have to agree that schools really do seem to be resistant to change. When looking at the High School that I currently work for with a population of 1700 students, I have seen almost no change in the last three years in regards to technology. We have banned cell phones altogether from campus if you want to call that change, lol. We have a few computer labs and only certain class rooms make use of them to research projects or to do some interactive on-line science work. We have created our first on-line school for students who are falling behind. As far as rejecting technology I would have to wonder if our schools reject them not because of the fear of it but because of the expense of it all. Our schools are struggling to remain open let alone purchasing expensive technology to enhance education. I think if the money was there our schools would definitely embrace new technology with open arms.

A Web of Connections

I found this blog under Mr. Richardson’s “Speaking Tab”. He talks about how the “Web has brought a world of information to our fingertips and, in the process, has transformed much of the way we work and live.” Again he goes on to talk about how education continues to be resistant to this change. He states, “We must begin to re-envision the basic foundations of teaching and learning. If we don’t, if we sit back and watch the world change without us, we risk our relevance and our ability to prepare our students for the world in which they will live and work.”

Our students do need to learn in a way that is relevant to their lives and their future is going to be in and around technology. If we as educators do not prepare our students to function in this era of technology we will have failed our students. This makes me ponder on the question of using technology to enhance education verses teaching how to use technology. How can we combine learning technology and learning from technology in our High Schools? I feel that I am in a generation that has been left behind in the how to use technology category. With this generation being emerged in it we need to make sure they know how to use it properly and in appropriate ways.