Education, Technology and Games

Our students are connected to the digital universe in a way that only movies were able to portray over that past few decades. The children of today are using cell phones, social networking websites, and video games in every part of their lives. There isnt but a few minutes when high school students are trying to chat or connect with another person in a digital way. Instant gratification and social response is something that teachers really need to understand and mold their methods to fit this new ideology and culture.

We as teachers, can do everything in our power to sustain the status quo, but the reality is that our students are going to check out mentally. Some questions need to be considered when creating new pedagogy and curriculum. The most important is to ask whether or not technology, the type that our students are familiar with, can be used as a teaching tool to learn the content. Why can’t Shakespear, or the Declaration of Independence be taught using MySpace or a cellphone? The students just might be able to learn the content better if they are able to connect with the material in their own way. That way is through technology.

After reading Pflaums book The Technology Fix, I thought a lot about the experiences he had at other high schools and compared them to my old school. All schools, except for a very few, have major budget issues. So far the trade’s classes have all but been eliminated and it won’t be long before computer classes are gone too. The computers at my school were antiquated. They worked just fine, thanks to a great on-site technology coordinator, but they were over six years old. A six year old computer is very old based on technology standards. The software that was being created could not be installed on our old machines. That element alone puts our students at a disadvantage to become hirable or college bound after the graduate. There is no money in sight for any sort of new or upgraded computers. We (just about all schools) have to make the best of the situation.

If I took over a school today and had to make an on-site technology plan for the next three years, knowing there will be no money for new computers, here are some of the things I would implement.

1. Before students use the computers for research based projects, the teacher needs to set very clear rules and expectations about how to complete the process correctly. The students need to know how to find information, summarize it, and then cite it correctly. The computer is a great tool for information, but without the correct training and expectations, the students learn nothing more than how to steal, clip and paste questionable material into a program like Word, or PowerPoint.
2. Any time the students use the computers make sure the directions are super clear and they reflect what they have done on each step in a writing assignment. Forcing the students to write about their experience on each step of a computer based assignment forces them to do it correctly and analyze the process. Otherwise the students will skip steps, do them incorrectly, and most importantly will not learn anything because they are acting without thinking.
3. Team up with local businesses and community leaders to create a list of digital technology skills that they would like the upcoming graduates to acquire. Once this list has been analyzed the teachers and administrators should make up curriculum that addresses these needed skills.
4. Technology training for teachers is crucial. Workshops and teacher in-service days should be provided for teachers to learn about new ideas and software that could be used in the classroom. Then the teachers need to be comfortable enough with those new tools so that they can teach it themselves. Training is a major missing element that must be addressed.
5. Use the resources that have been provided to you. The most important and most effective resource that is often overlooked is the actual students themselves. Most large high schools have at least 10-20 viable experts in computer technology. These students often know programming and web designing better than any of the teachers on campus. Use them to direct lessons, help create better programs, build websites, or any other task that you need help with. They are often very excited to help out a teacher. Reliability is often a large problem though.