Tuesday, September 29, 2009

fruit smack

alternately titled, 'time to pull the fruit off the tree'

Any press is good press, so I said 'yes' when two 10th graders asked if they could interview me for one of their class projects.

The interviewers provided me with three questions, in advance:
  1. How does the amount of technology at Springfield compare to other schools in the area?
  2. How does the amount of technology at Springfield prepare students for life after high school?
  3. How do the interactive white boards help students learn?
#1 is relatively easy to answer. In fact, I told the students that with a little research, they could gather all the data they would need.

#2 is an edutech dream question. I grabbed my inflatable podium and embarked on my amazing eighteen minute, TED-friendly, spiel. The students, awe-struck, reminded me that class is a rigid 87-minutes and begged me to answer #3.

And answer I did. And answer I do, because this question comes in many forms, from many people of varying ages.

The tool is meaningless. Its impact and value is dependent upon the meaningful integration on the part of the teacher. Students note that most teachers just 'write' on the board, doing nothing different than what they did on the white boards. However, students don't recognize that writing on the board is a positive step for teachers. Teachers are now being asked to re-learn how to write and erase. That can be a massive assault on one's confidence.

Mounting the board is unsettling for many teachers because other techy-tools tend to be small, portable, hide-able.

Teachers wonder what the board can do for them. In a way, their question is no different than #3 above.

This is low-hanging fruit, but if it's low enough, it's bound to whack a lot of people in the face.

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