Discussion 3

I'm still not sure quite how to take Clark's article. His emphasis on delivery that is "less expensive" and "cognitively efficient" was a bit much for me. I think many of us would agree that it is not the technology that is beneficial for students but it is how we use technology to better our lessons that affects our teaching and our students' learning. From this perspective, I agree with Clark that media is not directly responsible for student learning. However, I don't think I can agree completely with Clark in saying that there are "no learning benefits" from using media in the classroom, but maybe I am not drawing such a hard line between instructional methods and media that he seems to be. There is always going to be "another way" to teach something, and it is our job to make decisions and implement the instructional methods that we think will work best for our students. It is a trial and error and revision process that we have to engage in when it comes to instructional methods and technology use. Media cannot replace teaching; otherwise, we as teachers wouldn't be necessary in the classroom. I think it is classes such as 7210 that help us better integrate technology as part of our instructional methods that will, hopefully, lead to student learning. I think Clark does raise a valid point in that we are quick to look for positive evidence, but that we need to pay more attention to negative evidence as well. This is good practice in any situation, but it definitely rings true when it comes to what we are doing in the classroom.

I think Lowther's article builds off of previous discussions we've had in class. Teachers need the proper training in order to learn how to integrate technology successfully in the classroom, in a way that promotes student-centered learning. Although some teachers may not be comfortable, many are, and by communicating and sharing ideas, teachers can learn to use what resources they have to help student learning. I think this article confirms the idea that computers have both positive and negative effects on students and teachers and that the effects are going to vary from student to student, teacher to teacher, and class to class. My personal experience in working with students with laptops is that they open up a lot of possibilities when it comes to different learning activities but that they are also a huge management issue. You have to monitor student use, keep students on task, deal with troubleshooting, and provide alternatives for those students who left their laptops at home by accident, or whose laptops are broken, etc.

I think both articles reveal that computers and other forms of technology make some of the things we do in the classroom easier for students and ourselves. (We can be better organized, we can do things faster, etc.) However, this does not necessarily mean we are learning. Lowther's article in particular shows students' views towards laptops/computers: they are cool, they make things like researching (aka looking up stuff) on the internet easier, that it is easier and faster to type a paper than write it out on paper, and that they like playing games on them and using them for personal use at home. I think we need to help our students (and ourselves) see that computers and other technologies are capable of more than just making things "easier".