Article Assesment #3

Nick Leiser e-mail: asnal2@uaa.alaska.edu Date:5-3-08
Article Title: Tools for the Mind Author: Mary Burns

Article Overview:
This article points out how the perception of technology in the classroom has recently changed. We have shifted from a time when the potential of technology seemed limitless, and funding was plentiful, to a time where the potential of technology has been greatly untapped, and funding has been redirected to meet the needs of NCLB. It also discusses how technology has been used primarily for show and tell purposes rather than to promote a higher level of thinking.

Reference Points:
1. With budget cuts for technology and new NCLB requirements, the value of technology as an educational tool has come under scrutiny.
2. Use of lower order technology tools has become prevalent. Tools that involve a higher order of thinking are not used enough.
3. We are becoming a copy & paste culture. Students are putting together reports and presentations without absorbing the information.
4. Technology has been used primarily for show and tell purposes. Programs like Word and Powerpoint are frequently used to create presentations. According to a survey on the frequency of technology use in the classroom, electronic presentation was the most used form of technology. Technology is not being used to cultivate learning and deeper understanding.
5. Geographic Information Systems, Computer Aided Design Programs, and Simulation Software Programs should be used to promote higher levels of thinking.
6. Capitalizing from technology’s educational potential will require a return to our original assumptions; the need for critical thinking, for learner-centered instruction, and for students to use computers as mind tools.

Significance:
The significance of this article is that we as teachers are not taking full advantage of the potential that technology has for educational purposes. We need to re-evaluate the use of technology in our classrooms and determine how we can make better use of it. I found this paragraph from the article to be the most helpful when it comes to trying to change how technology is being used. “To implement these recommendations, teachers need a panoply of supports. They need opportunities to work together with colleagues to plan rich, preferably interdisciplinary activities in which technology serves to extend learning in ways that would not be possible without its use. They also need effective instructional and technology leadership from school and district administrators, access to higher-order technology tools, time to learn about and integrate these tools, and follow-up support and coaching.”