Accessing Technology
In today’s world, access to technology is becoming more and more ubiquitous. Schools need to reflect this change. The idea of having a computer lab that is the primary method of accessing technology is outdated. Students need to have access to computers on a daily basis at any point in time. There are a variety of methods of accessing technology that can be applied to schools today.
First, eliminating computer labs and making a shift to assigning each student a laptop, or having enough desktops in each classroom for each student to have access to the computers. Technology is used by people everywhere in the world today and schools need to be a reflection of this. The idea of having one place where technology is accessed tends to create a situation in which technology is the focus of the lesson (whether or not it is intended to be the focus). However, by having technology accessible everywhere, the content becomes the major focus of the lesson, rather than the use of technology.
The second method of having students use technology, at least at the secondary level, is via cell phones. Most cell phones today have built in access to the internet, and when they don’t have that, they can at least be used as MP3 players. Cell phones today are far more powerful than some of the earliest computers and as educators we need to take advantage of that. Cell phones can be used to text short answer responses to the teacher, they can be used to build collaboration, and in some countries (the Philippines and Mongolia) cell phones are now being used to deliver instruction to the students.
Where students cannot have a computer in the classroom or do not have cell phones for example, providing smaller size MP3 players in the classroom would be an additional manner of allowing access to technology. Students could easily download podcasts of lectures, video, or other webbased content to their MP3 player which would allow them access to a wider variety of material than what the textbook and associated material could offer.
Overall, the idea of computer labs is an outdated idea. Technology needs to be transparent in education, which means it is not set apart from the learning environment. It is an integral part of the daily classroom routine, which means that it is in the hands of each and every student. If the technology is not in the hands of the students, then it cannot be a part of the daily routine, which means that outdated methods of instruction are still predominate. As a result, students fall behind in the area that is most important, which is the ability to access the information and use that information to build connections and solve problems. Until we change the manner in which we access information in schools, we cannot move forward.
