"Technology will raise fundamental questions about instruction. Students can direct the pace and level of thier learning by using electronic resources and content-delivery systems. This can facilitate MORE students and class sizes could INCREASE. This could lower the cost and increase the quality of education." (Price, 2005.)
There is no doubt that the increased use of technology is going to and is already causing educators to reevaluate instructional practices. However, the changes that are suggested by Betsy Price in her article "Who's in Control of the Technology-Integrated School" is hardly even worthy mentioning. Arguing that increasing class size will increase the quality of education or that textbooks, which become outdated almost as soon as they leave the print shop, with curriculum based software is the most illogical and counter-intuitive arguments I have seen during this entire course. Why would further overcrowding classrooms, decreasing the amount of personal attention, and limiting individualized instruction have a positive impact on education? How would something that is packaged on a disc and remains static possibly be better than something that is packaged on paper and bound together that also remains static? They both become outdated for the exact same reasons, it is just the one looks "flashy" and the other smells bad after being kept in storage all summer.
Price also contends that we no longer need large computer labs because they are mostly used for keyboarding and basic computer literacy, things she states are "mastered before a student comes to school" (p.53, 2005). While many of my high school students do know how to do basic functions on a computer, few of them know how to type with any kind of fluency. They employ the "hunt-and-peck" method that MY high school keyboarding teacher broke me of after roughly one week. Our students are much more technologically proficient than many of us, however, they simply know how to consume technology. Few truly know how to master creating products.
Finally, "as the teachers' dependence on the Internet decreases, the need for student computers to be connected will disappear or at least lighten" (p. 55, 2005.) It is laughable that this article is given credibility. Everything we have learned and discussed throughout this course has centered around the free Web 2.0 tools that are available to assist and enhance teachers' instructional strategies. Our "dependence" on the Internet is not decreasing, it is increasing. Internet accessibility is allowing educators to provide 24/7 access to education for their learners. Decreasing Internet usage in the classroom would be counterproductive and a waste of time.
Price, Betsy (2005). Who's in Control of the Technology-Integrated School?
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