Tech? No…
When I was in middle-school, fancy calculators were the newest technology. Cell phones, personal computers and iPods were dreams of the future.
Today, my four-year-old plays on our multiple home computers, while my nine-year-old stepdaughter would love her own cell phone and has owned an iPod for years.
Thank goodness I’m not a school teacher trying to implement all this technology into the classroom. I’d be totally lost.
The George Lucas Educational Foundation asked teachers to ask their students which technologies they’d like to see in the classroom. The foundation recognized that while students have grown up immersed in a world of technology, the typical school relects little or none of this gadgetry.
Here’s what the students came up with:
Laptops: Students don’t want to carry heavy books, paper and folders. If the workplace is computer-oriented, why isn’t the classroom?
Cell phones: One new service lets students create electronic flash cards to help with studying for tests.
Public-Address Systems that play music between classes.
Web cams so students can talk to other kids across the world.
Bluetooth: A wireless-connectivity standard that lets electronic devices exchange information.
Video Cameras to tape the class and study it later or download it to the school Web site.
Some schools are probably already trying to implement these suggestions, and more you can find at www.edutopia.org.
What would you suggest?
Susan Simpson
Education Writer
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