Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Elementary School Technology use in school systems

There is a LOT of misinformation about the Common Core out there, which is leading a lot of people to conclude that it's, well, crap.

Plus, there are two aspects of the CC: the standards, as written by university professors, and the implementation of the standards, as written by companies focused on reducing costs and increasing profits. I've looked at the math standards pretty closely and find them to be outstanding. They emphasize understanding concepts over memorization methods. Math textbooks generally rely on memorization.

I agree with asking kids to explain their answers. If you can't explain it, how can your teacher be sure you understand it? Plus, explaining things well is a critical skill in the workplace. Scientists may come up with amazing new ideas, but if they can't explain them to other people (via papers, presentations, or informal discussions), their ideas will get nowhere. The same can be said for almost any field.

Obviously, there are limits. A fifth grader shouldn't be explaining how she knew that 4*12 is 48. But when kids are learning new concepts, they should absolutely have to explain how they got their answers.

I teach my kids. Sometimes my DD will consistently get the correct answer to something, but when I probe her for how she understands the ideas, I learn that she doesn't fully get them. This fact often comes to light when I want her to move to something more difficult --- I find that she only had a fuzzy understanding of the idea, which tripped her up when things got more complicated.

They are, and-- it isn't.

iTexts/eTexts are sold with site-licensing on an annual basis. This is the SINGLE MOST EXPENSIVE MEANS EVER OF SUPPLYING TEXTBOOKS TO STUDENTS.

It also generates MIND-boggling profit margins for textbook publishing. It's price-gouging, plain and simple.

I'll add that the functional limitations on using electronic textbooks for kids haven't really been studied very well. I believe that they exist-- and most parents who have used virtual schooling for any length of time agree wholeheartedly. We know that there is a difference between PDF-based textbooks and physical ones, and that the latter is generally superior as a learning tool for students.

If I hadn't experienced it firsthand, why would I spend hundreds of dollars annually to provide physical textbooks when the school provides "electronic" ones for free?

I think it's important to note that as students get older, and certainly when discussing adults, that those limitations may become less meaningful, at least for certain purposes. I can certainly learn from a screen-- with some caveats. DD is better about it than she was at nine or ten-- but there are some physiological differences in the mode of interaction that make "reading" a non-equivalent activity in paper vs. screen. Rather like typing versus writing longhand. There is a difference as far as the brain is concerned.

My major concern about the transition is that the neuroscience that raises questions-- IMO, quite legitimate questions-- about the differences is being ignored amid a lot of hype.

Edited links:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/

Our school went completely digital this year with every 4th-12th grader getting a laptop. Our district chose Pearson for our curriculum. Everyone was excited. The Pearson rep did a presentation and told us that schoolwork would be done on the computers, communications would be done on the computers, tests would be taken on the computers, grading would be done by the computers....yadda, yadda, yadda. Teachers could have more time to teach and work one on one because they wouldn't have to grade all those papers - the program our district chose would do all that for them. The teachers could get instant feedback from a quiz and see if the majority of students got a certain question wrong they could immediately go back and reteach that concept. We were very clearly told this Pearson system would allow students that needed more help to get that help and the students that get it the first time could move on and would absolutely not be held back. I have seen not one instance of this and that is beyond frustrating! It sounded so good and I was very excited (yet remained skeptical until I could see this program in action).

We have had more worksheets and paperwork brought home than ever and even the teachers have complained that they have gone through more paperwork this year. Is it the teachers' fault this isn't working the way it was described to our community? I don't know. What I do know is my biggest complaint, beyond this not working like we were told is that what I've seen so far from the math is just a bunch of tricks to doing math. A new trick every couple days and 20 more worksheets to drill this trick in. It is beyond confusing and has these kids so messed up they can't even remember how to do math. DD9 (4th grade) just now brought home double-digit multiplication the other day. She has been able to do these problems (the old fashioned way) for a couple years now, but when she started the worksheet she had no idea where to start. She was drawing boxes and adding in zeros and I waited to see how she worked the first couple problems out. It was a mess, so I took her back to the basics, explained it to her and she took off and was done in no time. I told her if the teacher says anything about how she got her answers to have her call me.

I think technology in schools can be a great tool and it can open so many doors for teaching in different ways. Just like I think CCSS can be a good thing. It all depends on how it is presented and what our schools do with it.

:rofl:

Oh, that's REALLY funny, given what I know of Pearson's digital delivery model.

1frugalmom - sorry the move your school system took has not worked out so far but at least they had a plan of how they would use the computers. In our district it does not seem that they have any idea of how they will use the computers or if they do it has not been publicized.

In my original post, I indicated that the County Commissioners had voted down their request but just under a week later it was approved. All kids in the district will be receiving the MacBook Airs beginning in late February.

Yes-- I think that I often wind up feeling like Gene Wilder's Willie Wonka here;

"Stop. Don't. Come Back." {sigh}

For anyone that has never seen it, this is my favorite 2s of Gene Wilder ever committed to film:



Genius.

It's not clear to me that the people hyping it even know what a neuroscience is.

I'll be more concerned about this if I conclude that the Internet and modern screen technology is durable over any significant civilizational time-frame.

Or, as has been said recently in another thread, it is difficult to get them to understand what neuroscience is if their salaries (or profit margins) depend on them not understanding it.

Wait. Is Pearson claiming that this stuff is the Common Core????

I think they're trying to say that it helps them achieve competitive profitability.