The downside of modern technology
There is clearly a downside to modern technology in education. You'd think having a school district that has the latest in computer technology would be a plus. But what happens when the teachers rely so heavily on the technology that they can't teach without it? My daughter found out today at her middle school -- apparently you do nothing all day
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No email? Try phone trees. (Well, unless the phone system is one that's dependent on electricity, which is not uncommon these days.)
Yearbook you can't do much about. Science class? Draw a table on a piece of paper and write the numbers down. Geography? Why is their fricking test on a PC? That requires net access? How secure is thatAnd that poor Algebra teacher who would be 'inconvenience[d]' by having to rewrite out material on the board? Yet they can use an overhead projector? PULL THE SCREEN DOWN OVER THE WRITING YOU DON'T WANT THE KIDS TO SEE BEFORE THE QUIZ, THEN ROLL IT BACK UP FOR AFTER THE QUIZ. I would seriously complain if that were one of my teachers ( ... )
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Or take verbal attendance from whatever printed roll they received at the beginning of the year?
Except that class rosters, at least in the districts where I've taught, almost NEVER stay the same through a school year, or even a semester. New kids come in; other kids leave; kids switch classes. My classes are different now from what they were on Jan 27th, the first day of the new semester, and they're WAY different from the first of the year. When the server's down, I usually have kids write down their names, the way you suggested.
Geography? Why is their fricking test on a PC? That requires net access? How secure is that?We use a web-based test-creation program called Moodle, that's designed to be used by schools. It's actually associated with our student records/gradebook/etc. program, which is also web-based and statewide. It's EXTREMELY secure; in fact, our new State Superintendent of Public Instruction is ( ... )
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As for the Algebra teacher, the funny thing is that she's a fabulous teacher otherwise and has done a lot towards making my non-math-loving daughter really enjoy her class. But most of the teachers in that school are very young -- early to mid 20's young. Very energetic, with lots of enthusiasm and passion and great ideas ... but clearly no idea how to work without the technology they have always used in their classes!
I'd hope that if the computers were down for longer than a day, she'd be able to adjust and be prepared to write on the board. But fortunately, I just got an email saying that the computers were back up in the district as of this evening, so they'll be able to go back to their modern ways. *g*
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the teacher said it would be inconvenient (!) to write everything out on the board because she'd just have to erase it each period before the pre-material quiz, and rewrite everything again
So it would be inconvenient to use the erasable board because it would then fulfil EXACTLY ITS PURPOSE. XD
I have PROFESSORS who use the blackboard.
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I know, LOL! I think it's just that all the teachers at the school are so young (22-27) that they've never had to do things the old-fashioned way. They are actually excellent teachers who really encourage my daughter to excel, but in this area, their age clearly works against them!
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Honestly, as a 20 year old, I assure you that I would not have wasted a period because it's inconvenient to have to erase the board later. ;) They may never have had to teach in a tech-deprived environment (although it's slightly unbelievable that they never did a practicum in a non-super-tech school), but I'm reasonably sure that when they were in high school (all of 10 years ago), their teachers used erasable boards, and probably didn't use Moodle.
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Also reminds me of a news story I heard (here's a copy from the AP) about how there's a swath of Kentucky that still doesn't have power, thanks to that snowstorm, and... the nearby Amish communities are reaching out to help people deal.
Maybe your school needs to find some good old fashioned Amish teachers...
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LOL, great suggestion. Or at least some teachers who are older than 27 and remember what it's like to do things the old-fashioned way!
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can't you get, oh, I dunno, BUTCHER PAPER and write it on that, then take it down and put it back up again?
I guess the question would be whether they could find something like butcher paper in the school. After all, it took them half the class period to figure out whether there was an overhead projector and how to get it set up. Maybe they should have raided the art room instead. *g*
Luckily, I just got an email saying the computers were back up, so let's hope everything will be back to normal tomorrow!
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Yes, I do believe (or at least want to believe) that this is what it is. I would hope that if the computers were down again tomorrow, the teachers would have created alternative lesson plans so that they had a back-up plan and had to do things the old-fashioned way.
And I'm really glad to get your opinion on this because I was thinking of you when I was writing the post. Most of the teachers at this school are young -- 22-27 -- and while they are fabulously energetic and enthusiastic and creative, I think they've just never had to teach without the technology and didn't know what to do when confronted by the situation.
As for white boards, I think they're pretty common in schools these days, because chalk dust is both bad for kids' lungs and bad for computers. We don't have any chalkboards in our building. This makes sense. I had never thought of it before, ( ... )
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We can't even do cash transactions without the computer, even if we know the price off the top of our heads. I need the computer to open the register, and every transaction needs to be recorded and done using the computer. Grocery store would definitely be down for business without power.
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