| | Thu Aug 09, 2007 8:06 pm | | | | Comments: 0 Views: 160 |
|
This week I'm writing a series on technology and "The Achievement Gap" on my social desktop. This is the fourth part of the series which takes concepts and problems from previous articles and then discusses some basic assertions about technology that will play a role in my discussion about methods of using technology that address socioeconomic factors in "The Achievement Gap".
"The Achievement Gap" observes that student performance is linked to socioeconomic conditions that negatively effect long term academic achievement. Effective solutions can be developed and implemented through policy that enforces stronger literacy programs for early primary and higher standards for secondary grade levels. Other solutions might constitute greater use of federal programs like Head Start or better guidance counseling programs. In the last article I defined these kinds of programs as "brute force" solutions that will continue indefinitely unless the underlaying socioeconomic and cultural problems are properly solved or worked around.
Technology, in general, has the potential to provide sweeping changes to society. An example is the printing press, which enabled mass distribution of lower cost copy and ultimately increased literacy rates exponentially (and also played its role in things like the Protestant Reformation). Another example might be the calculator, or graphing calculator. Introducing these pieces of technology into classrooms allows students to spend less time working out complex arithmetic and more time applying and understanding higher level mathematics. Yet another example might be Arabic numerals which are infinitely more simple use and write compared to roman numerals.
Technology, in each of the above cases, eventually provided a cultural shift, albeit over time. It took Arabic Numerals over a millenia from conception to become adopted in Europe (300 BCE - 850 ACE). The printing press, invented in the west in 1440 by engraver Johann Gutenberg, obviously took much less time to proliferate. In 1957 IBM released the first all transistor calculator and by 1970 pocket calculators were being developed. These technologies mostly illustrate that it is possible to quickly build and integrate tools into education that meaningfully improve pedagogy. I am not saying that technology always has a positive result or implying any other kind of whig interpretation that might naturally go along with my examples. My only assertion is that through technology changes and, more specifically, improvements can be made that have far reaching effects.
In my next article on "The Achievement Gap" I will discuss methods that apply this understanding of technology to create cultural changes that improve education. However, I may become sidetracked by accessibility issues related to economic conditions. Please feel free to chime in on any issues I'm leaving out. This series is turning into a bit of a roller coaster.
| |
|
|
