Article Assessment Three

Landon Roberts - landonmroberts@gmail.com - 11/17/08

Tools for the Mind - Mary Burns

Overview

In "Tools for the Mind,"  Ms. Burns pulls back the curtains to take a closer and more in depth look at why computer technology in the classroom has not engaged students to the extent that it was hoped it would.  Ms. Burns discusses the battle between lower (power point, word processor) and higher (databases, spreadsheet) applications in the classroom.  Ms. Burns believes that there is a much needed move that needs to take place between these two levels of thinking skills. She believes that students should be using higher order thinking software and teachers need to be trained in these kinds of applications.  Ms. Burns gives some reasons why she believes higher order tools are not as often used, (not user friendly. take more time to learn) and then discusses some possible solutions to dealing with this problem.

References

• Students and teachers must become creators of information and ideas, not simply users of technology.
• 81% of technology use is electronic presentation.
• online collaborations and content-oriented simulations are rarely used in today's classrooms.
• Lots of professional development opportunities focus on teaching skills instead of teaching how computers could possibly enhance student learning
• Many teachers are self conscious and intimidated by technology because they believe that do not know enough to use it.  

Reflection

I see this issue a lot in the classrooms that I observe.  When a project is presented to the students, they are asked to put it in a PowerPoint presentation, or write a paper about it.  Most of the time the material is copied and pasted and not cited.  Students today with the fast paced world in which we live don't seem to want to take the time to learn something in depth.  Skim the surface, get it done and move on.  I honestly think that issue that Ms. Burns addresses is a very scary reality for today's students.  Students are used to skimming the surface and are having a harder and harder time actually thinking.  Teachers on the other side of the coin are expected to get through so much material, that there is little time for experimenting and getting accustomed to more thought provoking software and computer based educational material.  I think that Ms. Burns hit the nail on the head in her first strategy when she mentioned teaching critical thinking skills become technology.  I believe that is the number one issue in our educational system today.  Kids have a hard time thinking through problems and issues.  When that problem can begin to be solved, I believe a lot of our issues in schools will begin to fix themselves as well.