The good news: Kids are now more likely than ever to have wired classrooms and easy access to computers.
The bad news: Teachers often aren't trained to teach kids how to use the computers.
WHEN KIDS GO back to school next month, odds are good that their classrooms will have computer technology in them. But odds are equally as good that teachers won't be prepared to effectively use that tech...
...the absence of an Internet- connected PC in a classroom today is unusual. Washington schools boast 3.5 students per PC—and 8.6 students for each computer located in a classroom instead of in school libraries or computer labs. Statewide, 93 percent of schools had classroom Internet access in 2002, according to research firm Market Data Retrieval...
Tech training [for teachers] requires time and money that is in short supply...
What's more, it's not just a matter of training. Teachers are less eager than their students to put lesson plans and tests on computers - "chalk doesn't crash." Even teachers who are knowledgeable and eager give in when faced with anti-tech administrators.
This is a shame, because if there's any group that keeps harping about making schoolwork more fun and creative, with less effort, it's the public education community, and this is where computers can add so much. They aren't magic wands to solve problems - giving kids computers won't teach them to read any more than giving them calculators teaches them math - but the skills that children can learn in wired classrooms will not only make learning more fun, but better prepare them for the real world outside.
Posted by kswygert at August 6, 2003 10:48 AM