"In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores"
There is a transformation in the way in which the "21st Century Students" are being taught and the push for technology in the classroom is soaring. Soaring in terms of the costs associated with this dynamic digital technology appeal as requests for more budget funding is asked of the tax payers at the ballot box, but also soaring as students are engaged more now than ever in the classroom due to "digital devices engage students to learn at their own pace, teach skills needed in a modern economy, and hold the attention of a generation weaned on gadgets".
However, the jury is still out on the payoff for bringing digital technology into the classrooms. A heavy, financial burden is being felt as the crisis that plagues many school districts regarding the increase in school budget cuts and teacher layoffs loom while spending rises into the billions for technology upgrades and improvements. As an example, the Kyrene School District in Arizona invested approximately $33 million in digital technology. "21st Century Skills" are essential for the growth of the student to become successful in the classroom and some day in the boardroom. The teacher's role in the classroom is evolving into being a guide through the tunnel of technology where hope and enthusiasm lingers but test scores somehow seem to be stagnant.
The critics to this digital technology boom contend that "schools are being motivated by a blind faith in technology and an overemphasis on digital skills ... at the expense of math, reading, and writing fundamentals". However, the National School Boards Association has praised the district in which Kyrene resides for it's technology innovation. "The district leaders position is that technology has inspired students and helped them grow, but there is no good way to quantify those achievements". There have been studies that show improvements in classrooms, schools, and districts. While there have been other studies with conflicting results on the success of technology on standardized test scores.
Student engagement is the core argument for investing in classroom technology the article points out. This idea is also the core of the National Education Technology Plan that the White House released last year. The plan endorses bringing "state-of-the art technology into learning to enable, motivate, and inspire all students". This technology transformation sounds great and needs to be addressed at these political levels to even think of making digital technology become successful in the "21st Century Classroom". The social-economic environment that we live in on the east coast is considerably different from students that sit in the classrooms on the west coast. I would go out on a limb and contend that the benefits of technology for the students of today are essential and required for their learning skills and the future for the economy of tomorrow. However, difficult financial choices are having to be considered to get this "revolutionary transformation" into the classroom and we haven't even addressed the requirements and skills needed for the "21st Century Teacher"!
As I try to comprehend the benefits and risks of all this, there are definitely many pros to integrating digital technology into the classroom for today's students to prepare them for the lessons to be learned for tomorrow's challenges. But do we want to lay the burden on them later in life with the price tag that comes with introducing the WEB 2.0 Tools when we have to increase the taxes that will be eventually be their responsibility? I personally would love to have the WEB 2.0 Tools at my disposal to enrich my teachings and bring a stronger engagement into the classroom once I eventually get that certificate. I can think back at the days of sitting in the classroom and being bored with the mundane teachings in the subjects that I took. However, there were classes that the teacher integrated the utilization of newspapers for current events and stock market decisions that did energize me and the rest of the class. Game show events was another big hit with me as we challenged each other. This is what I envision my classroom will be like when I get my opportunity to utilize WEB 2.0 Tools to engage my students and feel the energy that I once felt.
I have several brothers and a sister that are teachers and also a few neighbors and we discuss some of the WEB 2.0 Tools that I have been exposed to and utilize. They talk about how they are now just getting some of the technology tools into the classroom but it just scratches the surface for their needs and needs of the students. However, a discussion with a neighbor who has family out on the west coast and visited over the summer informed me how far ahead the students out there are with access and utilization of the digital technology tools. I do realize that funding has an impact on obtaining these tools and different areas of the country have differing socioeconomic challenges, but with the National Teaching Standard requirements there should be funding from the federal government to help all school districts across the country.
