Does Technology Influence Education?
The first thing that struck me about these two articles is how well the authors knew each other and how well versed they were in what the other's viewpoint was on the topic. I found myself agreeing and disagreeing with points that both authors made. However, in the end, I believe I agree with Kozma's View of technology than Clark's.
Clark's description made me reminisce of growing up in the 80s and 90s. I grew up in a very big school district and one that had many resources that others did not have. I had the opportunity to participate in academically talented programs, we had a math & science center for high school students and I can remember having multiple computer classes at my disposal. In my regular classes we didn't have much technology wise, but I remember feeling like the teachers had done a great job preparing me for college just by the work that they put in and with their teaching methods. I think Clark would have said that I "turned out so well" despite having the technology that kids have now because my teachers possessed exceptional instructional methods. I was motivated to be a learner because the teachers created an environment in which I was excited to learn.
Sometimes I even think of technology as a crutch. When I began teaching math students needed to do much more by hand. As I progressed in my career, the use of graphing calculators changed the landscape of my classes. While some might argue that these calculators assisted students or deepened their understanding, sometimes I think they taught them to cut corners and not "really understand" the material. With the pressure put on teachers to improve standardized test scores, we found ourselves spending more time teaching students how to do problems "quicker" to get them through these tests. In this case, did the calculators really influence learning or just influence the speed of calculations?
Kozma would say that those graphing calculators did both, when used properly. He believes that the media that we give students, as well as the methods by which we teach, should go hand in hand. He would tell me that if I had put more of a focus on teaching why the calculator was giving those answers, rather than what answers they were giving, the students would have benefitted more from the technology. He believe that media hits on many different levels of learning (physical, social, and cognitive) and that I could have done a better job of using those calculators to benefit my students ever more. With this, I tend to agree!
While I think I had a great school experience despite growing up in a time period of much less technology than kids today have, I often wonder "what more could I have known?" What if my wonderful teachers could have done even more because they had the media to do it? This is why I tend to agree more with Kozma. I like having the technology in my classroom to hit different learners. I like that they can "google" something that comes up in class and can get an immediate answer. I like that what they find can spur classroom discussion. And finally, I like that as a teacher I can use technology to push me to be a better teacher and to get more answers for my students.
Clark's description made me reminisce of growing up in the 80s and 90s. I grew up in a very big school district and one that had many resources that others did not have. I had the opportunity to participate in academically talented programs, we had a math & science center for high school students and I can remember having multiple computer classes at my disposal. In my regular classes we didn't have much technology wise, but I remember feeling like the teachers had done a great job preparing me for college just by the work that they put in and with their teaching methods. I think Clark would have said that I "turned out so well" despite having the technology that kids have now because my teachers possessed exceptional instructional methods. I was motivated to be a learner because the teachers created an environment in which I was excited to learn.
Sometimes I even think of technology as a crutch. When I began teaching math students needed to do much more by hand. As I progressed in my career, the use of graphing calculators changed the landscape of my classes. While some might argue that these calculators assisted students or deepened their understanding, sometimes I think they taught them to cut corners and not "really understand" the material. With the pressure put on teachers to improve standardized test scores, we found ourselves spending more time teaching students how to do problems "quicker" to get them through these tests. In this case, did the calculators really influence learning or just influence the speed of calculations?
Kozma would say that those graphing calculators did both, when used properly. He believes that the media that we give students, as well as the methods by which we teach, should go hand in hand. He would tell me that if I had put more of a focus on teaching why the calculator was giving those answers, rather than what answers they were giving, the students would have benefitted more from the technology. He believe that media hits on many different levels of learning (physical, social, and cognitive) and that I could have done a better job of using those calculators to benefit my students ever more. With this, I tend to agree!
While I think I had a great school experience despite growing up in a time period of much less technology than kids today have, I often wonder "what more could I have known?" What if my wonderful teachers could have done even more because they had the media to do it? This is why I tend to agree more with Kozma. I like having the technology in my classroom to hit different learners. I like that they can "google" something that comes up in class and can get an immediate answer. I like that what they find can spur classroom discussion. And finally, I like that as a teacher I can use technology to push me to be a better teacher and to get more answers for my students.
I am glad that you are working hard to better understand technology for your class. I like how you are trying to use technology to discover better ways to teach.
ReplyDeleteYour observation that technology can sometimes be used as a crutch was a very interesting point. I like how you addressed the pressure on teachers to have students meet ever increasing standards and testing scores with limited time and resources, this absolutely can be an issue with technology in the classroom. Though not necessarily one with ill-intent, as almost all teachers are doing everything they can to provide the best education to their students.
ReplyDeleteI really like your final point, using technology to push you to be a better teacher. I think that is so great, and not and idea that I came across when completing this assignment, but I wholeheartedly agree. I also found myself agreeing and disagreeing with points on both sides, I thought for awhile there I was not going to be able to pick a side. In the end, I did end up agreeing a big more with Kozma because of his more progressive attitude and his argument backs up this point you make about making yourself a better teacher.
ReplyDeleteVery well-stated position statement!!!
ReplyDeleteClark views that technology in and of itself can not be an independent variable that can explain the causality of the impact, but instead a mediating variable that can explain the relationship with the impact. On the other hand, Kozma views that technology can be an independent variable that causes a direct impact on learning because of its unique attribute. Clark is not an anti-media but is anti-oversimplifying the question.The point that Clark wanted to make is that the question, "does technology influence learning?,” is indeed unanswerable because so many confounding variables and the replaceability of the impact of the technology are at work. He thus called for the research community to stop asking such an unanswerable question, but instead claimed that we need to dig into in what ways technology can support learning as a delivery vehicle. For those who side with Kozma’s position (mostly cognitivists), they have conducted so many studies regarding media comparisons, making a case that the unique attribute of X technology leads to Y effect and accordingly that we should integrate X technology in the classrooms for the sake of brining Y effect in learning. There are so many such studies and statistics out there. But, as Clark argued, we need to be cautious of these studies, since there are always questions whether such impacts are really due to the technology itself.
Drawing from such a different position, we have a different approach to technology in learning. For those who side with the Clark’s position, they might be more interested in how technology mediates learning as an intellectual partner that helps students engage active learning, but for those who side with Kozma’s, they might be interested in using a particular technology because they believe that its unique attribute eventually leads to an impact on learning. The bottom line is it’s a very different world and perspective.