So what do you think? Should more schools switch to this type of learning where students use computer programs and Macbooks to learn? Would it be effective? Is Mooresville just an example that can't be duplicated? Is it financially feasible to do this throughout the US?
Sunday, February 12, 2012
An Example to Follow?
A school in Mooresville, North Carolina really switched into the digital age by giving every student a Macbook to learn from. They didn't get to keep the laptops of course, but used them on a day to day basis. This school had an 80% graduation rate in 2008 and with their changes, soared to 91% in 2011. As a result of all these changes, the school no longer needed many things, like computer labs, since virtually every student had a laptop -no pun intended. Although this may seem too good to be true, many teachers were laid off. Something that one of the teachers at the school said that was “[you] have to trust kids more than you’ve ever trusted them, [the] teachers have to be willing to give up control.”
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
The Internet has helped a lot and has become essential for academics. Though I agree that the idea of schools giving its students laptops to users cool, many students would probably use the laptop for Facebook, to shop, and play games online instead of using the computer to study. There are some teachers that are still doubtful about letting students use a laptop in class while other agree that the laptop can help their classes. I think that we can all agree that technology can be a great distraction for many high school students and college students. However I have to concede that it is a person's choice to be part of the class or to be somewhere else mentally
I agree with Katherine. While a computer is much easier and more efficient to work with than traditional pen and paper, the costs would outweigh the benefits on this one. FIrst of all, the cost of the computers themselves, not to mention maintenance fees and the cost of keeping up with software, would be extremely high. Second, if the laying off of teachers had anything to do with the implementation of Macbooks, they are definitely not worth it. I think it might be a good idea for a private school who's students can afford to buy their own computer, but certainly not in a public school that cannot even afford to buy books or make enough copies of handouts. As for the distraction thing, I went to one of my sister's college lectures and at least a third of the students were playing angry birds or were on Facebook... and I can imagine that technology would be way more distracting for high school seniors than for college seniors.
I think arguments can be made on both sides with regards to following Mooresville's example. As the statistics show, the graduation rate did increase after the implementation of Macbooks for each student. Also, typing can be faster than handwriting, and computers may increase efficiency and allow teachers to cover more material per class period and allow students to get more work done quicker. However, as Dustan mentioned, teachers are being laid off because of the computers. Furthermore, buying so many Macbooks must have a substantial financial impact on the school. I think that while computers and the internet are very useful tools for learning and education, not everything can be taught and understood online, and I believe good teachers are crucial for students' success. Therefore, if giving every student a Macbook to use means firing teachers, I do not think Mooresville is an example to follow.
I would like to respectfully disagree with Katherine and Jamie - I think the Mooresville education reform system is a great model for national education reform. With the rapid rise of technological inventions, our direction towards the future is no doubt amenable to taking advantage of these developments. Rather than using the old-fashioned "white chalk" method, which is messy and inefficient (even whiteboards, something relatively new, still depends on doing everything by hand), we should utilize our newest resources - in this case, laptops. There are numerous benefits - the efficiency of learning, much more widespread resources that can be found on the Internet at all times by students, quicker communication amongst students and between students and teachers, etc. I don't think Facebook/games will be much of a problem in this situation because the teacher is still actively engaging students in work - just not through traditional resources. In addition, we can look to Aragon itself as a pioneer in tech development - our student response systems (AKA "clickers") are not an absolute necessity, but they sure are a hell of a lot faster than passing out papers to everyone, conducting the tests, grading them, and calculating which problems posed the biggest problem to which students. The student response system measures not only the class average but also keeps track of student percentages, among many other features. I think we should appreciate the astronomic leap in efficiency that our "tech age" has brought us and take advantage of these new resources, however formidable they may seem presently.
Post a Comment