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IT Tools for the Future
By Carol DauntA story on NBC News earlier this year asked if  the Internet was a tool or a crutch for students.It reported that a Middle School in the state of Washington was allowing students to use theInternet during tests. Apparently there wereparents who were not impressed and wereasking why administer a test if you're going togive them the Internet to answer it. The reporterconjectured that using the Internet for testswas ‘cheating’.The questions that come to mind are:What is cheating?What are we trying to test?What skills are important?It’s interesting to note that what is regarded in schools as cheating (and therefore negative) isregarded as collaboration in business and is a valued skill! If we were trying to test how manyfacts a student could remember, then using the Internet to find answers would certainly seem tobe ‘cheating’. But I haven’t met a teacher for many years whose aim is to cram facts intostudents’ heads. There are just too many facts, and in many disciplines, the facts change sorapidly that remembering them is pointless. What is more important is not simply to memorise thefacts, but to know how to access and use them.And what of the role of teachers? Should they simply be someone who prepares students for tests, or should they be someone who prepares students for life? We have a tension between those who want to see classrooms as places where students and teachers focus on innovative,creative learning, and those who want to see classrooms that focus on reinforcing the basics.Some argue that we need standardised testing and benchmarks, while others argue that using  the Internet and other tools to foster creativity and expression will help young people improve their skills even more effectively.I think we need to start with student experiences with technology and learning. A recent US studyin the ‘Listening To Student Voices’ series had many interesting findings, but I highlight one herewhich I think summarises the situation:Technology has caused students to approach life differently; but adults act as though nothing haschanged.Students are approaching their life and daily activities differently because of technology, butadults still employ age-old learning programs. Adults design serial learning activities, whilestudents are multi-taskers. Adults give students assignments with “how to” instructions, while
 
 
students say they learn better by trial and error. Yet-unchanged school libraries and adults’ ideasabout personal learning spaces are out-of-date.This encapsulates the attitude of the parents at the school I mentioned earlier. They are judging  the use of the Internet for testing against the education they knew and loved (or hated!). I amsure the teacher constructed a test that called on students to use not just their recall skills (forexample, memorised facts), but took them through various layers of thinking to achieve some realproblem-solving and higher-order thinking.The Internet gives students access to a vast range of resources that they would not be able toaccess as readily and quickly by traditional means. Asking if the Internet is a tool or a crutch isakin to asking the same question about books. And just as we had to learn how to use a bookeffectively, we need to teach students how to use the Internet effectively. The plethora of information available contains a lot of dross, and the important skill is how to gather and analyseinformation effectively.Wireless is also giving students unprecedented access to the Internet. Concerns about howwireless Internet is used in the classroom will no doubt increase as access increases. Manycampuses and classrooms now have wireless access. This opens a whole new range of concernsabout what students are doing online during your lesson – emailing, chatting or wandering about the World Wide Web.But there is no use fighting wireless and the Internet! Teachers need to think of ways to takeadvantage of it. Having students online during a lesson gives you another channel to teach through - build it into your teaching and learning activities.The following are some questions to think about:How can we best utilise the Internet with our students? It is increasingly becoming a tool that isused during all lessons rather than one that is used during a defined period of time each dayunder teacher direction.Should we use it as a complement to our current methods or should it be a substitute? This onedoes not need too much thought! Technology is amazing, but being a great teacher will always bemore important.How can we add value to the information that is currently on the Internet? You can make thelearning environment that much richer by using online information as a jumping off point for otheractivities.How do students evaluate what is reliable information? This is the most important skill you cangive them.The Internet is not a crutch – it is a tool for facilitating learning and making it more fun andengaging. It lets students access information 24/7, be creative and have a say. It is a wonderful tool, but needs to be used in the right way. It will not make a better teacher or student; it is just achannel for them to work through. Even George W. Bush recognised this so I will let him have thelast word: “Behind every wire & machine must be a teacher and a student who know how to use that technology to help develop a child’s mind, skills and character.” (AP story in NY Times Jun 19,2000)
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