Thursday, June 18, 2015

1 Issue that really "erks" me!

As I take my three classes for this summer semester, I have been in learning overload. My eyes hurt at the end of the day from staring at a computer screen all day! I feel like I don't see the sun near as much as I would like either! One of the issues I have been researching in one of my other classes is the idea of using technology for testing purposes rather than making students responsible, 21st century, digital learners. Schools, especially the last couple years, have bought a lot of technology, which is a good thing! What is not a good thing is the reason why: Testing. 

I get it... testing nowadays requires a lot technology for it to function, and yes, testing is a necessary evil (to an extent). We have to see where students are at and I believe it to be a good thing that we are trying to get comparative scores between students from different parts of Ohio and the whole nation. What I don't get is this seems to be the only reason why school districts are purchasing technology. This erks me! Is this really going to make our students digital learners? Is this really going to make them responsible digital citizens? Is this really going to prepare students for real 21st century employment opportunities? I would like to think it doesn't, and it really rubs me the wrong way! 

What do you guys think? Am I overreacting? 
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3 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 18, 2015 at 9:33 PM

    Are schools really only buying technology for testing? They may be. It has been 2 1/2 years since I taught. End of course exams came around after I was done teaching. (OGT was still the standardized test for students). It seemed like the school was constantly purchasing technology. We were getting smartboards, infocus projectors, clickers, ELMO projectors, mobile computer labs, iPads, etc.--but I don’t think it was for testing. I feel like the school was purchasing technology to try to increase student engagement. Most students have been immersed in technology their entire lives and we were encouraged as educators to feed on this. Maybe this wasn’t the school's intent or maybe things have changed in the last couple years.

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  2. UnknownJune 19, 2015 at 11:37 AM

    Unfortunately, most schools in the area I teach around are making the case to their respective school boards that the schools need more technology simply because of testing (which is mostly true). School boards, seeing the importance of good standardized test scores, do not hesitate when handing over funds to administrators to buy more devices and/or update the existing school network capabilities. In all cases, no. But sadly, true in a lot of cases.

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  3. Queen BJune 20, 2015 at 7:58 AM

    While the cause of the purchases may be questionable, I love that we're getting more technology. Sure, we'll use the extra computers for testing, but we now have more access when we're not testing...and when Pearson Push is streamlined or (fingers crossed) eliminated, we'll have all that technology for instruction. Hang in there, Nate!

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