This article profiled the Waldorf School of the Peninsula in Silicon Valley, one of about 160 schools in the country that subscribe to this method of no technology in the classroom. While this idea may seem radical, I truly do see some positive coming from it.
There is no doubt that technology envelopes our entire attention when it is in front of us. Just look at people sitting on the bus, riding the train or even running the park. Cell phones, MP3 players, IPads and so many other technological forms really limit our interaction with other people. By using the Waldorf method, students gain some time away from these technological distractions and only have fellow human beings to interact with, which will no doubt improve the very important skills of managing personal relationships and inter-personal communication.
There was one quotation from this article that really hit home for me and why I can see such an extreme method of education having its' merits:
“Teaching is a human experience...Technology is a distraction when we need literacy, numeracy and critical thinking.”I am a huge proponent of critical thinking and problem solving skills in the classroom. As teachers, yes, we are supposed to teach the necessary content, but along with that, should come necessary life skills that will aid students for the rest of their life. While I agree that technology, when used properly, can have a positive impact on instilling such skills in students, there are just some things that actual human beings can demonstrate better. We need great leaders, innovators and thinkers who can solve problems on both the individual and much bigger world-wide level, and I feel an over-reliance on technology hinders this. I am by no means supporting the Waldorf method in this article, but it is definitely something that caught my interest.
Justin, it seems that there are select positives one can take from each extreme side. By picking and choosing the best ideas from both, one should be able to come up with a dynamic way of communicating material to the students.
ReplyDeleteKevin, I definitely agree with you. I just feel that there needs to be concrete, scientific evidence on the positive effects of technology in the classroom before we go "all-in". That's not to say though that in the meantime technology should not be experimented with in the classroom. When I read articles though such as the one about all-digital textbooks, I kind of scratch my head as to why all that money is being spent at once without gathering some kind of data on a smaller scale.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you totally Justin. I feel that we are expected to be completely on-board with technology and if some teachers question its effectiveness, they are considered "outdated" educators not prepared to teach their students. I also agree that with some technologies (video conferencing) you can lose that connection with your students. Education has worked for years without many of the new technologies we see today. The only misconception I believe you may have is an "all or nothing" perspective. To me, technology in the classroom doesn't seek to replace traditional education. The reason why we still meet in many classrooms today is because we know that learning is a human experience. Technology is supposed to step in to drive a teacher's point home. It should not replace the teacher but rather be a tool to help him or her better connect with his or her students. Our content is extremely visual and abstract and there are times when human depiction can't truly grasp what is happening. This is where technology steps in and where it is required. It should not replace the humanity of learning but rather provide more opportunities for teacher-student connection (i.e. online help at home and emailing).
ReplyDeleteJustin, I agree with you and Marco. You both pose a great point; that technology is not here to REPLACE the teacher, but to AID the teacher. As Marco said, Education has been around for a while, so why do we think it somehow does not work anymore if we do not incorporate all the new technologies the world has acquired? I believe you cannot JUST have one or the other (ONLY technology or NO technology), it must be like a well balanced equation. For our content area, there are things better explained and visualized by the teacher, and others better grasped by a piece of technology that can “show” the point “better” or clearer. All in all, I believe that education is moving forward, but it does not need to be solely based on technology around every corner. Education is part of experiencing contact with students and teachers, and gaining life skills to make you grow as a person in the 21st century.
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