We Can't Get 21st Century Results from a 20th Century Classroom

I’m writing this blog entry on a computer, which probably doesn’t’ surprise you in the least.   If you had a blog, or if you were writing a book, or if you wanted to get an important message to a friend, you would most likely also use a computer. 

We all use computers for writing, because we are not idiots.

And yet, somehow our education system is still functioning in a world where students do most of their work using pencils and paper.  They don’t take tests that way, mind you.  Bubble sheets, at least in this state, went away years ago. 

But everything else is done on paper. 

How does this make sense?   

Seriously, who writes anything by hand these days, other than maybe a grocery list or a few quick notes about something you don’t want to forget?  Is there a job available in America today that doesn’t involve at least some interaction with computers?  Even cab drivers and waiters use computers to communicate and collect payment, and no one can really be successful in this day and age if they can’t negotiate the internet and comprehend the information there. 

Even teachers use computers, we just don't expect the students to use them very often.  I clock in every morning on my computer, I take attendance on my computer, I enter grades in my computer, I communicate with parents and my colleagues on a computer,  I write my lesson plans on a computer, I keep all of my records on a computer, and I create worksheets and activities on my computer. 

And then I print them out and give them to the kids to do with a pencil. 

Why? Honestly, I can't answer that.  I simply can't get access to enough computers often enough to conduct a class that way.  

It is a problem, though, especially with today's kids, because they're not only growing up with the technology, they are watching their parents and teachers use technology for everything as well. The only time I use a pencil or pen is when I grade their papers. Everything else I do is done on a computer. 

These will never be able to get through a day in their lives without interacting with computer technology.  How do I know this?  Because I can’t get through a day without interacting with computer technology.  Today, I went to the DMV and had to answer questions on a computer screen.  I went to the grocery store and had to fill out a form on a computer.  These kids will be dealing with computers every single day of their adult lives, if they aren’t already. 

Can they get by without reading books, newspapers, or magazines in print, though? 

Absolutely.  At this point, there is nothing in print that isn’t also available electronically.  Our students definitely need to read, and they need to be able to read competently, but teaching them using print resources exclusively is a waste of time. Why would they ever use a dictionary?  I don’t.  Not when I can get the definition and etymology of a word just by typing it in Google.  Atlases and almanacs?  Seriously?  Google maps is easier and more comprehensive than any atlas I’ve ever seen, and I can get statistics and historical data on anything just by typing in a few key words. 

The idea that our children, kids who are raised in a world of smart phones, video games, and web sites, kids who would rather explore a virtual two-dimensional world full of zombies and heavily armed assassins than be forced to contend with the bugs and weather outside, can learn important life skills in an environment where they compose texts by waving blackened sticks at a piece of paper is absurd.  It isn’t really a question of preparing them for the future, it’s a question of simply allowing them to exist in the world we are already living in. We use computers for everything these days, and they’re still becoming more prevalent all the time, except in school. 

Not that there’s any lack of research on the importance of technology in education.  Research shows that student engagement increases when they have access to technology, and that the skills students most need to develop for the 21^st century workplace require the ability to use technology in innovative ways.  Anyone who wants to use research to back up their claims that technology is important can find the research. 

But why bother?  I could conduct a research study to prove that it’s raining outside, but it’s easier to just look out the window.  I don’t need research to prove that people drive cars or that grass is green.  Everyone these days works with computers, constantly.  If you open your eyes and look around, you’ll see that I’m right. 

So why would I need to convince anyone that computers should be used for education too?    

That’s why my only desire at this point in my teaching career is to have computers for all of my kids to use.  I don’t care if the school issues them all laptops, or if they simply put me in a room with enough computers for every kid I teach, but I need them to be working and learning the same way I do, on a computer. 

Fifteen years ago, that was a real challenge.  Computers were great, but there wasn’t a lot of software available to allow students and teachers to work together interactively.  By the mid-2000’s, though, I was in a graduate program getting my Masters in Education, and I was using Blackboard to have discussions with my teachers and post assignments. When I did research, I was able to access all of the journals I needed on-line with a very few exceptions.  Some of my classes, in fact, were entirely on-line.   

And now, that technology has trickled down and is becoming more and more available for students in our public schools.  There is no reason computers should not be everywhere in the classroom.  My school district, last year, implemented Google Classroom, which allowed me to post assignments on-line, grade them on-line, comment on them on-line, and set up forums for student discussion.  This year, we are also planning to implement Blackboard. 

And, if tradition holds, I will have five computers available on a permanent basis.  I can get more if I sign them out and no one else needs them. 

Which simply isn’t good enough. 

The time has come to smash the blackboards and use the pencils for kindling.  The time when I needed to stand in front of a classroom and deliver content in the form of lectures is done.  Now, I have the tools I need to give them the information, and let them work at their own level, and I want to do that. 

But first, I need the computers.