I have not blogged for a while since I have been so frustrated with the educational system. My school has made me feel like a really old man who is totally out of touch with students needs and wants. I hope that we will have some students reply honestly to this blog so that I can get a better understanding of how they feel about technology.
One of the things that our administration does not seem to understand is that for every second you spend doing something that does not impact the class room it is a second you are not helping students in the classroom. This seemed to come to mind the other day when I found at we had a Twitter for our school. It seemed to me like a waste of time to tweet things about our school on Twitter.
So as a totally old fashioned person I use e-mail to communicate with my students. I was told that if I used Twitter it would make the communication with the students much better and more students would read my announcements. So trying not to be an angry old man I asked a couple of my classes how many students did not have a twitter account. To my total surprise about half my students did not have twitter. So this great communication tool that some of us were raving about does not connect to half the class. Am I missing something here?
As an older person I remember how TV (yes TV) was going to save education, then VCR's, computers etc. I have had students evaluate me for the last ten years and while they have offered very valuable information on how to get me better nobody has ever told me to use more technology. I think of our math teacher who is by one of the best teacher in the school and she does not use any thrills or technology. She just works harder than most to make sure that her students understand the information. There is not a student who has her who every walks away thinking anything but she is the most caring individual.
So I ask, what do students want from teachers? Do they want teachers who use the coolest technology? Or do they want teachers who worked their hardest to deliver the material in a way that students can learn. Do they want teachers who are open to suggestions or teachers who hide behind technology? Do they want teachers who care about them and support them?
I am listening and hoping I get honest feedback. What do students want?
Hi Mr. Bressler, thanks for another thought-provoking and insightful post.
ReplyDeleteI think that the school system is trying to use social media like Twitter as a way to get more in touch with its students, but honestly, students are not going to be more motivated to do their work and do their work well just because teachers send out Tweets to update them. I know that technology can even be a distraction in the classroom (frankly, I feel like some of my teachers try to incorporate technology into their lessons for the sake of it being technology, more so than it actually being helpful, and the lesson sometimes suffers.)
That being said, I think integrating some aspects of technology can be helpful. I know in my computer science and physics classes, we've used clickers to take multiple choice practices, which made reviewing and discussing questions quicker and easier because of the instant response times. The emails that you and some of my other teachers send out via Edline have been really helpful, but I guess that's coming from someone who checks her email daily. However, technology is definitely not necessary for teachers to reach their students, and for students to have a good experience learning and growing in a class.
You say that, "my school has made me feel like a really old man who is totally out of touch with students needs and wants", but I think in your last paragraph, you've hit on exactly what it is students want: "teachers who worked their hardest to deliver the material in a way that students can learn." I think when it comes down to it, us students love teachers who care about us and who are passionate about teaching and what they teach. Things like if our teachers use technology are trifling when compared to that.
Thanks again for working so hard and inspiring your students (and even those who aren't your students!) daily.
I think technology is something that can help in the classroom, but it definitely isn't necessary. For example, your online review sessions help a lot of people, but those same people can go to your in-person reviews as well. In this case, technology just provides more opportunities to help students out.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the most important thing (I believe, and I think most people would agree) is how much the teacher cares. That math teacher you mentioned, you can tell how much she cares by how patiently she teaches, and how genuinely she wants her students to succeed. I can tell how much you care by all the review sessions you hold, how you keep us on track with your board of grades, and by the way you ask us for feedback. You and that math teacher have different styles, but both work because we students can see how much you care. Plus, both of you don't use technology, so I think that just shows how unnecessary it is.
Hope this helps!
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DeleteDear M. Bressler,
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew how to post on your blog, but unfortunately I do not. Therefore I am emailing you my response to your recent blog post. I feel that our education system as a whole wastes money on technology. Fortunately for me technology has impacted my life positively, like giving me to create a professional 10 min history documentary. With that said i feel that our school systems spends to much money on technology, such as the smart board (THAT DOESN'T WORK). I feel that a teachers simple instructions and motivation would have the same response kids have to the expensive technology. (I don't mean any biased but...) In your classroom you use very few technology tools and I feel i actually learn more in you class, then another class that uses a lot of technology. I think a good teacher would be able to motivate and teach their children without technology.
P.S My mom (a teacher as well) says kudos to you and very much agrees with your blog post.
This generation is obsessed with technology, i agree with that. How ever, trying to use technology where it is not needed or wanted hinders our chance to learn. When a teacher forces us to watch a brain pop that is too basic or watches a movie because they have nothing planned, that is a waste of time. How ever,technology can be very useful. If we watch a short video that actually helps explain a topic better then the textbook and provides a good visual to aid learning, then yes it is useful.
ReplyDeleteBut we do need to ask the question, "what is technology?" If you mean anything that is electric that we didn't have 10 years back or even 5, then we maybe. I believe that if we didn't have the technology of a dry erase boards that would harm us. In my experience, dry erase boards allow teachers to quickly gauge how well all their students know the topic. Some technology can be useful to help make sure everyone knows what is going on. even a projector hooked up to a computer helps. Power points can provide well organized information and allow quick note taking.
But no matter how much technology helps, nothing is better then a good teacher. I have a teacher for history (Mr. W I will name him) that only uses a chalkboard and chalk. Nothing else. How ever, Mr. W is hands down, one of the best teachers i have ever had, and will ever have. He cares if we pass each test and stays after school the two days before a test to make sure we truly get everything. Every Thursday before and after school, he allows us to stay after school and review all of our old topics and study for the AP exam. Mr. W does everything in his power to make sure we pass the AP exam, and nothing is more important to him then the success of his students. The most impressive thing is not only do I get "A"s in Mr. W's class, but I used to cry when my parents made me go to historic places such as Gettysburg, but I am taking an extra year of history just to get him again. This is truly what it means to be a good teacher.
I personally think that sometimes technology does help in providing more opportunities to students to learn different ways, but I don't think it will actually motivate students to completely change their work ethic. I know sometimes I look on facebook to make sure I didn't miss anything important in school, but I don't think a student who doesn't even care to do hw or study by themselves will be motivated just because of technology.
ReplyDeleteThere are teachers that use more updated technology like the physics clickers that I help me because the teacher is comfortable with using it. I have had some teachers that tried to use more updated technology and struggle with it making it unhelpful. Although I commend those teachers for trying something new, students aren't going to be interested because you're using a new software or sending out information via twitter. I feel like whichever way teachers feel comfortable with teaching and feels like it helps the student should just continue.
A teacher that simply motivates us through the actual lesson and not with sophisticated technology is the best kind for me.
Personally, I like reading a book that is physically in my hands, where I can turn the pages not just swipe the screen or click a button, but maybe that’s just me. I prefer writing rough drafts by hand--being able to see my mistakes and feel my words on paper, instead of having them magically appear on a screen. I am generally more engaged when a teacher writes information on the whiteboard, step-by-step, instead of flashing a worksheet up on the Elmo. I think there is value in being able to do things by hand, to try researching without Google every once in a while, to not always depend on technology for shortcuts. Though I am grateful for technology in that it has streamlined many things in life, in the classroom, too much begins to detach students from the actual learning experience--the genuine interaction of student to teacher that is irreplaceable by or even through a lifeless machine.
ReplyDeleteThe most memorable experiences in the classroom for me have not been the unveiling of the Elmo, but have been when teachers really try to connect with their students. Technology already permeates most aspects of our daily life outside the classroom, so I don’t see it as necessary to inundate us with more in the classroom. As it is refreshing to receive a handwritten letter instead of a 2 second text, it is equally as refreshing to have an actual discussion in the classroom instead of being told to sit in front a computer screen and research the next lesson topic.
I like that today, student-teacher communication is so simple thanks to technology in that we can send an email to find out make up work or to continue a conversation outside the classroom. But like in everyday life, I believe technology should be used to supplement what we do, not become a distraction or a crutch we depend on. Although I agree we should incorporate technology in the classroom to fit the changing times, what we must consider first is how much it would actually enhance learning. If the benefits are marginal, why not instead dedicate the limited resources to better textbooks to encourage students to actually read them, to more time for personal interaction in the classroom, to better teacher pay because after all, it’s the teachers who can have the lasting impacts on students, not a lifeless machine.
Hi, Mr. Bressler. I think it's amazing how much people think technology is the way to go. It certainly helps to make access to certain aspects of teaching, but I hold firm that there is NO better way of learning than by having a teacher who knows the subject actually teach you. I'm in at least one class and have been in several before in which the teacher's method of teaching is by telling the students to read up on a website and fill out a worksheet to turn in the next morning, and that to me is unforgivable. Personally, one of the best ways I remember what I've learned is by remembering how and when I learned it. There isn't a lot of context in sitting at my computer at home, rereading paragraphs of text that don't mean anything.
ReplyDeleteI understand how video can help people. But you can't ask a question to a VCR. Or a DVD. Or a Blu-Ray. Or whatever. Personally, I don't have a Twitter because I find the whole thing kind of pointless. It's just another time-suck. Just a side note: giving us the information with new 'cool' technology doesn't make the information any more interesting to people. I would understand it if, for example, they were putting up information targeted specifically towards students, but I feel like the BCPS twitter just restates everything on the website for that week. Peripheral-route persuasion, I guess? Also most of my friends who have Twitter would never follow BCPS or Dulaney High, so I'm not sure who they're targeting. I don't want to think about school when I'm not in school, with a very few exceptions. And those exceptions are the classes that I am interested in, the classes that engage the students in a unique and positive and memorable manner, such as psychology. The 'coolest technology' doesn't always work. I'm hard pressed to find an example of when it's ever better than an experienced, engaging teacher. That being said, I do think that every classroom should have a way of accessing a projector, and every teacher should have a way of communicating with the students outside of the classroom. I love email. It's simple and I can access it from my phone. I know that BCPS tweets during the school day, so if I had a Twitter account I would probably be taking my attention from the class to check what message they were sending. That also being said, being open to suggestions also means being open to technology. It's not really deniable that technology has done great things for the school system. But in order for the school system to be able to access that technology properly, it needs to be reformed not around technology, but at the very least incorporating it. Based on what I understand, teachers are trying to find a way to put their current information into more tech-savvy forms, and that shouldn't be how we're doing it. We should be figuring out which information can be IMPROVED through technology, what new information it's given us, and in what form that new information can be taught in most efficiently.
I'd just like to say that I think the online review sessions are really benefiting me. Someone said that the people attending the online reviews can always go to your other reviews, but that's not true. Personally, I have C lunch so I can't go to the lunch reviews. I don't have access to a car so whether I hitch a ride with a parent or take my bus, I almost never get to school before 7:35. And I have Spring sports and work, so most days after-school review to me is closed. I know if I did have D lunch I would spend every available day in one of my teacher's review sessions, but all of my classes that offer review offer it during D lunch. Which is understandable, because most Juniors I know do have D lunch. I'm just saying that the online reviews offer an opportunity that some people don't otherwise have.
Thanks, Mr. Bressler.
To the angry old educator
ReplyDeletecompassion
caring
sacrifice
Words used in the above comments can not be achieved through the use of technology.
time-suck
Great phrase. How much time can be saved by not spending time on tech which may not enhance the learning experience?
Communication
From personal experience, communication works best face to face. Tech only provides information/data, but not necessarily the smile or frown needed to engage learning. (yes I am aware tech can also open doors to creative ways to view data and the world)
Speaking to each student individually each quarter would do more to enhance communication than a tweet or email.
Why do we persist in using calculators for basic arithmetic? Evidence would suggest that this technology has done more to harm a students sense for numbers than any tech around.
Tech can help and tech can hurt the learning environment. Any educator/administrator worth their salt (where does that phrase come from?) allows risk taking to occur in the classroom, even if it doesn't include technology.
And to you my angry old friend, if it ain't broke....
you ain't broke
I just wanted to reply to one of your comments about the use of calculators. Calculators, while they may reduce a students ability to do arithmetic by hand, they also drastically reduce the amount of time spent in class doing math. While using them in a biology classroom doesn't make much sense, calculators are absolutely invaluable in physics and chemistry courses.
DeleteI think that there is tremendous value in a teacher who truly cares about their students' achievement. I also think that technology is usually used effectively in class by teachers. Think about it: you constantly use power points effectively in class, you communicate via email with your students, and you blog. Whether you realize it or not, you use technology pretty effectively already.I don't think you need to feel like an old man who doesn't know what his students want. As long as you ask them about their preferences, I think you'll do just fine.
ReplyDelete