Reflective PaperReflective Paper
1. I am a Board of Education trustee in your community/Dean of your department, and I am not really sure about the value (or lack thereof) of spending funds on technology. As the expert, what questions would you ask me to gather more information about my needs, and what would you tell me about the benefits and/or drawbacks of technology?
2. Southwest Internet Learning Lab, Inc. wishes to donate enough computers to your school/department, in exchange for your agreement to use only their online curriculum. SWILL has been one of the most active corporations in developing software and systems for the military, and much research has been done in evaluating the effectiveness of training for military and business personnel. You have the responsibility for making the final decision about this offer. What would your decision be, and how would you justify that decision to your constituents?
4. Throughout the years computers have been in schools, many people
have been trying to nudge school personnel away from reliance on the least
creative – and arguably least educationally worthwhile – modes of using
computers in the classroom. A compelling case has frequently been made
not to try to replace teachers with computers or use the machines for basic
presentation of material or make computers themselves the focal point of
instruction, but instead to integrate the technology as one of many resources
employed in open-ended projects, with the student directing the computer
rather than vice-versa. Yet even as examples of brilliant teaching with
computers have multiplied, the most distressing practices have continued
unabated. Why? Clearly, it’s not for lack of information on available alternatives.
It would seem that some sort of social force(s) must be supporting the
less productive uses. If so, what do you think they are?