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I've got to read that book about the hand. I've been embarassed about how tactilely-oriented I am; I draw with my hand, underline and highlight things I read with it, copy things with it in order to get it into my brain -- I swear I literally think with my hand.

-- CarolynJohnston - 20 Mar 2006

For my teaching, the most useful aspect to technology is for communication. I post course information (including assignments) on the internet and I answer homework questions by e-mail. If a student misses class, the assignment is easily accessible to them. When they are working one homework at 10pm, they can send me an e-mail and a fair amount of the time they will get a response back right away. Having things set up electronically gives me a more easily accessed archive of what I have done (I'm not very organized in the paper world, but do reasonably well with electronic files).

I'm tempted to look into the ALEKS 3.0 program, because so many of our students come in with significant gaps. I don't think we have the staffing (there are two of us who teach math) to individually assess each student at this point and get them appropriate/effective remediation. I have heard whispers of good things about ALEKS for this sort of thing, and if it works, it could be pretty helpful as well.

One thing is true, you can spend all the money in the world on technology, it can be very useful (when used correctly), and be a total waste when none of the teachers actually use it. My experience is that (for the most part) students adapt fairly fast to using (new) technology, teachers seem less able/inclined to make the investment (especially when it's not clear what the benefit will be).

-- MattGoff - 20 Mar 2006

We are back to an issue of domain knowledge. How does a teacher teach/use what he or she doesn't know or understand?

-- SmartestTractor - 21 Mar 2006

"No more technology."

This is too vague.

How about:

"Technology is not a substitute."

or

"No technology before its time."

But, really, "technology" is both something and nothing. You have to be more specific.

Generally, it means computers. In a local private school, they talk about "Laptop Learning", and they are now big into using the "Harkness Table". Both of these can be either a help or a distraction. The devil is in the details. (This is high school.) The efficient use of computer technology can be a great asset, or it can be a distraction and time waster. One can create the nicest looking report with graphics, wrap-around text, and fancy fonts, but the content of the report might be a failure. Unfortunately, most forays of technology in the classroom expect too much from the technology or they are a complete distraction. They are trying to use technology to solve problems that have nothing to do with technology.

-- SteveH - 21 Mar 2006

." What worries Henning is that computers at best engage only two senses, hearing and sight -- and only two-dimensional sight at that. "Even if they're doing three-dimensional computer modeling, that's still a two-D replica of a three-D world. If you took a kid who grew up on Nintendo, he's not going to have the necessary skills. He needs to have done it first with Tinkertoys or clay, or carved it out of balsa wood."

I don't buy this. This is neither necessary or sufficient. As I have mentioned before, I know a number of excellent designers who would have difficulty drawing a straight line with a ruler. I learned hand drafting as an engineering student and was horrible at it. (most engineers are poor draftsmen) I now write and use 3D modeling software.

"As David Elkind, a professor of child development at Tufts University, puts it, "A dean of the University of Iowa's school of engineering used to say the best engineers were the farm boys," because they knew how machinery really worked."

But these farm boys might be horrible at drafting by hand. The students who learn 3D modeling only on the computer might be able to CNC cut out the model to put in their hands. There are now 3D printers that can produce a model very quickly. A student could go through a large parametric variation of designs in a short amount of time and hold each model in his/her hands. There is little or no advantage to spending the time learning how to cut the model out of balsa.

The problem is not whether you do something first by hand or not. It has to do with how well you can tie a conceptual design with reality. Those who have worked on the "reality" have an advantage to those who have not. However, working on reality does not necessarily mean doing things first by hand before using any kind of tools. Carried to an extreme, an architect might have to start by cutting down trees by hand to create log cabins.

Often, this argument is used to require students to do things by hand first before using the computer or calculator. It's not that simple. Don't get me wrong. I see little use for calculators and computers in the lower grades. They are distractions and are used to avoid doing real learning.

-- SteveH - 21 Mar 2006

I've got to read that book about the hand. I've been embarassed about how tactilely-oriented I am; I draw with my hand, underline and highlight things I read with it, copy things with it in order to get it into my brain -- I swear I literally think with my hand.

That's almost certainly what he says....something along those lines.

-- CatherineJohnson - 22 Mar 2006