(Quo vadimus? or Where are we going?)

My main attitude toward using technology in the classroom is a not so much a mixed-blessing, but sometimes a necessary evil–something that once we desired, that now we’re really not sure of. In the past 10 years, “Educational Software” sales have boomed–from the electronic worksheet stacks to the cooler effects (based on the latest version of Flash). Some companies even include documentation which indicates which activities with their software fits which State or National educational Standards–as if it were an afterthought (but perhaps good marketing).

So, does technology make or students smarter, preparing them for the 21st century workplace therefore being productive members of society?

Wrong question because it has been asked or used as a reason for spending lots of bucks and making long-term business decisions with hardware and software companies and those decisions haven’t actually come from the teachers or parents–with the exception for the business people who think that technology will fix education–I mean, the shareholders of the community.

With the fuss of the last 10 years of technology in the classroom, little has been highlighted by how technology helps with learning–sure, there are those articles that deductively claim that by using this product that students can retain more…but it is usually not spelled out “more than what…”

(originally posted on www.vergil66.com/bashinged: 12 Jan 07)