This is the blog site for the technology committee at the Lawrenceville School. We hope to use this site as a place for discussion about the role of technology in a Lawrenceville education, bringing in the voices of teachers, students, parents, alumni, and the world at large. We will also maintain a collection of related resources here.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Welcome!
This is the blog site for the technology committee at the Lawrenceville School. We hope to use this site as a place for discussion about the role of technology in a Lawrenceville education, bringing in the voices of teachers, students, parents, educators, and more. We will also maintain a collection of related resources here.
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This is pretty cool. It'd be neat to see some tech-based educational experiences documented here.
ReplyDeleteI'm about to finish my Information Technology Web Science degree here at RPI and would love to share my experiences with everyone. How do I start?
ReplyDeleteGood work Lawrenceville on starting a blog!
ReplyDeleteNow where do we go next?
Out here my recent MMM ( Masters Medical Management) degree had exposure to web based classrooms, web based lectures,webinars, discussion groups, school email and e alerts, internet posting of papers, brochures, statistical problems, and IT (information Technology).
This technology exposure was a necessity, as the university was 1200 miles away and classmates were scattered over 5 time zones, 8 states and 2 countries.
It was tough for me to try to learn all that computer stuff.
For example, When I was at Lawrenceville the math books had pages on Cosign values. Now excel allows a person to hit a button to get the cosign value. Amazing for me
Lawrenceville, Where do we go next?
Do we just talk about what we may have done recently with technology in education?
and How do we create value for Lawrenceville?
How do we measure?
Could we start with ???:
Could Lawrenceville have an inaugural webinar highlighting an interesting topic?? a history lecture?
an interview with the Football coach regarding the Hill game.?
These events placed on the web site might help evaluate the basics of video and audio capabilities. They might be interesting and allow gentle feed back to Lawrenceville. Is that type of feedback neede? wanted? worthwhile?
I have no idea, just questions.
If invited to comment again i will be less wordy.
So where do we go next?
Thank You and Best Regards.
Flashback to 1967. Lawrenceville had a time-sharing terminal in the basement of Noyes or the library. I forget which building but I remember it was in the basement. My roommate in Griswold was one of the few students who knew it was there and how to turn it on. He showed it to me one day and got me interested. I think he programmed it to play 21 and it was amazing. Remember this was 1967. He taught me how to program in BASIC. When I got to college in 1970 I already had a few years of computer experience where none of my other classmates had ever seen a computer before. I had a huge advantage.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how this translates into 2010 but there it would be great if Lawrenceville could provide the students with the same type of head start that I got 40 years ago. My roommate went on to become an internet pioneer. I have a few less noteworthy technological achievements but was able to stay out in front of the technology wave until the late nineties. The decision to put bring a time-sharing terminal to Lawrenceville was probably made by some forward looking committee. I think it was a good decision.
Thanks Davis for jumping in first. Bay, please share some of the most powerful experiences that you've had at RPI with educational technology and any particularly good resources you would suggest we explore. Melissa has already suggested a site under the Technology Tools discussion. James, we just met this morning to talk about trying a short online alumni course this spring, somewhat along the lines that you suggested. I'll share your specific ideas with people here for webinars. Barry, great story about a short introduction can lead to much more meaningful involvement down the line. What are those cutting edge technologies that we should be considering in investing in now?
ReplyDeleteA couple of books and video from Clifford Stoll seem in order.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to a talk he gave a couple years ago:
http://www.ted.com/talks/clifford_stoll_on_everything.html
Here is a information link about Clifford Stoll :
http://www.ted.com/speakers/clifford_stoll.html
Books that come to mind that should be in the library or anyone's library but may or not be :
High Tech Heretic: Why Computers Don't Belong in the Classroom and Other Reflections by a Computer Contrarian
[Hardcover]
Clifford Stoll (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Clifford Stoll Page
Silicon Snake Oil: Second Thoughts on the Information Highway by Clifford Stoll
Cuckoo's Egg by Clifford Stoll
These are seminal works in and on the culture of the Internet.
Daniel Haun
Cloud computing is cutting edge. Lawrenceville could look into becoming an early adopter. To some extent the existence of this blog signifies a move in that direction.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if I could get some more clarification as to what Lawrenceville is hoping to accomplish with all of this.
ReplyDeleteAre we trying to incorporate new teaching techniques using technology into the current curriculum, or is Lawrenceville looking to add new technology based courses/content? I believe doing both would be greatly beneficial for all Lawrentians.
This year there are a few faculty members dedicated to examining technology as it relates to practice in the classroom. We're looking at what the transition to an increasingly accessible amount of information means for the classroom experience. The hope is to come back with some practical ways of implementing tech into the curriculum, with a goal of making it easy for teachers to facilitate educational experiences through the technology available. Would be interested in people's input: students, faculty, alumns, and observers. How do you foresee learning changing as we move into a new model for distributing and sharing information on a massive scale?
ReplyDeleteOne of the things we're discussing is how we believe students and educators require the skills to be flexible and adaptable to technology that will continue to evolve and change at a rapid pace. Perhaps this is a transitional time in the development of technology, and the rate of change will slow in years to come, but for now, it's elemental that a person entering the workforce can adjust and embrace new technologies as they prove themselves useful.
@Bay Phillips - Great! Drop me an e-mail and we can put something together, maybe under the Resources section.
ReplyDeleteBill Freitas
I teach kids - grades 6-8, 2.5 hours a week per student in our school. By the time they graduate they are COMPLETELY familiar with, and have mastered, all of MS Office (Except Access - which they know how to use but have not mastered - no one has), and know the following quite well: XHTML web page design utilizing JavaScript Styles (via Dreamweaver - or Text-Pad - and making sure all pages Validate), RobotC, Java, Photoshop, Illustrator, Publisher, Flash Animation, InDesign and the younger programs like Storytelling Alice, and Lego Robot RCX/NXT systems. I know and understand the power of the young mind and know what they are capable of doing if we just get out of the way and let them do their thing with some gentile guidance. Integrating multiple academic subjects to get a better understanding of how it all fits together.
ReplyDeleteWould love to help L'ville hone their already sharp skills to make them second to none in the demographic.
I've been teaching education technology, instructional design and using video games as learning tools for the last six years. I'd be very interested in helping Lawrenceville develop new ways to empower their faculty and better prepare students through innovative uses of technology. Many of the jobs students are preparing for today don't even exist yet so it's crucial that they become life long technology learners and not just learn the technologies that exist now.
ReplyDelete@Johan and @Ted -- we'd love to take you up on your offers.
ReplyDeleteWill Richardson and Tony Wagner were here yesterday for NJAIS's annual conference. Lots of provocative ideas from both of them about how education needs to change to engage the Net generation and prepare them for the world in which they're going to live and work. Richardson recommended 8 shifts for us (teachers) and our students, which I'll post under the 21st century learning topic. One of his main points is that education is still mostly push oriented (analog, tethered, isolated, generic, consumption oriented and closed) but the rest of the world has become more pull oriented (digital, mobile, connected, individual, creative, participatory, and open). Lots to think about as art master Sheamus Burns and I develop a new course that we're going to teach this spring called "Design for Social Change." Comments, suggestions welcome.
A Parent
ReplyDeleteLearning and teaching as we knew it has to change. Current students have dates and information on hand in seconds. I believe they need to understand timeframes and how they relate. It needs to start in Pre-K so they are prepared for high school. It just seems like there is a lot of discussion but no one is quite sure the HOW to teach our new generation of children. A lot of change needs to occur. How do you teach the student of today? I do not know the answer but I know it is not they way we were taught. I think it will be an exciting process to watch. I am pleased Lawrenceville is being aggressive in this field. I would love to see a group to discuss the role of Lawrenceville including educators, students and parents.
What role should technology play in education?
ReplyDeleteThe question itself, as posed, contains a kind of fallacy of composition. While it might appear to be merely a matter of nit-picky semantics, in actuality the issue has implications that are profound; they reach not only to the roots of the educational issues intended by the question, but to the foundations of the only proper context in which the question can be intelligently answered. Any attempt to answer it without these considerations, despite whatever truth and insight it may offer, must inevitably fail, with the most dire consequences for the future of those students on whose behalf, especially, the question is being posed.
The fallacy lies in the redefinition, de facto, of the word technology. By allowing the accepted use of the word to be strapped into the straitjacket of only computer and so-called information technology-related software and hardware, we contribute directly to a lexicon which distorts the very essence of the education desperately needed by our students. I warned at the outset that this might appear to be mere semantics, well aware of the societal changes over recent decades, and sharply cognizant of the need to explain such seemingly alarmist language as I have used in these opening paragraphs.
Let me begin with a quote that will surprise many readers.
"I think the subject which will be of most importance politically is mass psychology.... Its importance has been enormously increased by the growth of modern methods of propaganda. Of these the most influential is what is called `education.' ... It may be hoped that in time anybody will be able to persuade anybody of anything if he can catch the patient young and is provided by the State with money and equipment.
".... The social psychologists of the future will have a number of classes of school children on whom they will try different methods of producing an unshakable conviction that snow is black. Various results will soon be arrived at. First, that the influence of home is obstructive. Second, that not much can be done unless indoctrination begins before the age of ten. Third, that verses set to music and repeatedly intoned are very effective. Fourth, that the opinion that snow is white must be held to show a morbid taste for eccentricity. But I anticipate. It is for future scientists to make these maxims precise and discover exactly how much it costs per head to make children believe that snow is black, and how much less it would cost to make them believe it is dark gray."
These are excerpted from The Impact of Science on Society, 1951, by the famous Lord Bertrand Russell. Those taken in by Russell’s reputation as a humanitarian, peace advocate, and so on, object that such quotes are taken out of context, that Russell was simply using irony to make a different point entirely. Russell’s family and personal history, viewed in full, argue otherwise. This is not the place to review all of that. The above quotes, of dozens from numerous such “philosophers,” social researchers, and others, is meant here to illustrate the warped filter through which education, psychology, and other important fields, have come to be increasingly pervasively viewed over more than half a century, with a key upwards acceleration beginning around the mid-1960s, about the time when I, myself, was starting as a freshman at Lawrenceville.
Why should we concern ourselves with the implications of the word technology? The full answer deserves much more complete treatment than we can manage here, but we can get at the core enough to provoke the right questions.
(Continued in my next post; I'm brand new to blogging.)
The absurd Malthusian argument rests on a false definition of natural resources. While nature is one thing, and some of what we find may be readily consumable as we find it, such as clean fresh water, what we call natural resources have been defined more and more over millennia by technological advances which allowed certain natural occurrences to be of any use to us. For example, as even a cursory review of the history of smelting ore from “rock” will show, even the simplest of iron products could not be created without getting some grasp of the technology required. From the earliest beginnings, to the most advanced industrial processes in use today, including nuclear medicine, aerospace, and…oh yeah, manufacturing stuff like computer chips, flat screens, and satellite communication networks, the history of humanity’s ability to solve the physical challenges of existence on Earth confronting it at each turn, has relied on development of new, higher levels of technological development, in turn reliant on new breakthroughs in our understanding of the nature of the universe of which we are an active part.
ReplyDeleteThe Malthusians, who began rearing their ugly heads in the major media again beginning in the late 1960s, insist that natural resources are limited. We hear about how we should rely on high-tech versions (oh, is that should for “high technology”?) of windmills, and on solar panels, rather than returning to the progress we used to honor in advancing the process which has characterized the development of new levels of technology over centuries—the increase of what is sometimes called energy flux-density—an increase in the amount of energy applied over a cross section of the process—and has a relation to the amount of raw material (“natural resource”) used to produce the equivalent amount of power. Examples include the increasing heat available as we have moved from burning wood, to coal, oil, and then taking the leap to nuclear fission. The energy contained in 1.86 grams (0.07 ounces) of processed uranium is equal to 1,260 gallons of petroleum, or 6.15 tons of coal. Mastery of the thermonuclear fusion reaction will offer energy flux-densities several orders of magnitude beyond fission.
We are not, however, simply dealing with a quantitative increase in available “energy.” Each new level of fundamental technological advance opens the door to processes entirely unavailable at the previous level. Have you benefitted from an x-ray or medical scan? Do you have a cell phone or laptop computer? been to the grocery store and scanned an item with a pulsed laser? These, and countless other technologies upon which we have come to rely, depend on industrial processes requiring machine-tool design and high-grade steel, increasingly pure silicon and other materials, in turn dependent on modern mining technologies and heavy industry.
(Last few paragraphs in final post.)
At present, while life on Lawrenceville’s beautiful campus offers the promise of educating new generations of movers and shakers, we live in an historical moment of arguably greater consequence that any in several centuries. In the U.S., increasingly over the past four decades, we have bowed to the ideas that were just (re)gaining popularity when I was in Kennedy and Lodge: that industry just creates pollution; natural resources are fixed, which leads to the inescapable conclusion that population growth (as Lord Russell was at pains to argue), must ineluctably take food and fresh water from our mouths, and make our lives worse. So, along with similarly false precepts underlying what is taught as economics (you will find most economics texts introducing the notion of “managing scarcity” within the first chapter, if not the first paragraph), we now face the situation in which virtually everything we need is “too expensive”—pensions and Social Security, modern hospitals and advanced treatments, repairing our aging infrastructure, mass transit systems, public safety departments, public education, all of which are being chopped from budgets faster than you can read the news—while a voracious financial system demands rescue, as if its casino-like behavior were some original principle of universal natural order. To natural to fail, perhaps? Haven’t heard that argument yet.
ReplyDeleteAlthough some animals do, or may, use tools, only man, the human species, has the potential to willfully discover and master universal, valid physical principles, applying them for the benefit of humanity and the planet as a whole, through the invention and implementation of new technologies. From the earliest use of fire, to experiments in thermonuclear fusion, the increase of our population and our ability to manage the challenges we face, have depended on this. When we get our heads back on straight and restore the manned space program with an eye to mankind’s long-term future, all the more so.
Today, we have a choice, as to what kind of future we will create for ourselves and our posterity, here and globally. In 1970, we seniors were talking about how we were going to eliminate corruption and bring about a much better life for the planet. I regret to say, my generation allowed itself to be duped, and has made a royal mess of affairs. The choice today, consequently, is either to reverse course in many important ways and return to an upward trajectory, or to allow our society to continue its accelerating collapse under the weight of its own folly, into a very hideously dark age. But, in order to even recognize the parameters of that choice, in order to understand the reality now presenting itself to us, and thus, grasping what should be most essential in guiding the education that we provide to our children, youth, and adults, our consideration and understanding of technology must free itself of the shackles of the misdefinition now taken for granted by our youth. We owe this to ourselves and to them.
@ulodesk - thanks for pointing out that technology is not just information technology. I read a book this summer that you and others might enjoy called "Hamlet's Blackberry" by William Powers which examines the development and spread of past technologies for insights about how we might manage/respond to today's new social networking technologies. Arguably, one of the most revolutionary "technologies" in Lawrenceville's classrooms over the past 200 years has been the Harkness table. As part of this year's 75th anniversary celebration of the introduction of Harkness teaching at Lawrenceville, we're emphasizing two inquiry skills -- question asking and empathetic listening, because we believe that both are as important in today's globally connected world as they were when the tables were introduced in 1936.
ReplyDelete@sandra -- I like your example of dates versus timeframes. This blog is the beginning of the conversation that you recommend. Two preliminary thoughts came to mind when I read your question: how does teaching and learning need to change?
ReplyDeleteFirst, I think we shoud probably focus more on what Howard Rheingold from Stanford calls, social media literacies. He focuses on five -- attention, participation, collaboration, network awareness and critical consumption -- that people need to become critical consumers of digital media.
Second, I hope that the relatively easy access that students now have to information (with the caveat of course that they need to be critical consumers of that information since there is plenty of bad/wrong information online), we as teachers can focus more on higher level skills -- critical thinking, questions asking, analysis, synthesis, interpretation, problem solving, etc. That's not to say that content is not important -- you need a foundation of information to understand issues/problems, but rather that we should take advantage of the fact that information is relatively easy to find and acknowledge the fact that so is misinformation, and therefore help students critically examine and use all the information literally at their fingertips.
I wonder about encouraging the use of new technologies for organizational/time management purposes. At least for me, Google Calendar/Documents, online to-do lists and desktop sticky notes have been huge life savers in college, both academically and with extracurriculars. Is this something Lawrenceville would consider exploring?
ReplyDeleteHow Could Lawrenceville Make Better Use Of Technology?
ReplyDeleteLawrenceville could improve in terms of technology by adding a computer sciences curriculum and a new designated department with its own expert faculty. This new department should have faculty not just trained in this field but also have members from all the other departments as computer use is essential in every aspect of our education in Lawrenceville. The curriculum should last an entire four years. It should also be a graded and credited course, so that students take it seriously and realize the importance of learning this subject in depth. In my opinion, understanding the use of technology will better prepare us for any challenge the real world will throw at us. For example, if you are an astrophysicist at N.A.S.A. or a stock broker on Wall Street, or a beautician who needs to keep track of her employees’ pay roll, knowledge and competence in computers and technology will be essential to ensure success in each field. This course should cover basics like using excel and powerpoint effectively and correctly to more advanced topics like computer programing. It could also cover more important concepts like internet safety especially on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter which have changed the way we communicate and interact with each other. After this four year course, we should be able to use computers in a variety of situations. Even though we may not know where our destiny will take us, this course should have prepared us to face any occupation. I know that this is adding more to our extremely busy schedule and heavy course load, but in the long run, this course will serve us well. This course should not only teach us how to use computers effectively, but should make using a computer second nature. Another reason to study computer sciences is to be able to make educated decisions and to be able to accept or reject new technology that will undoubtedly be coming out in the future. All of these suggestions would definitely make Lawrenceville an even better school that would prepare its students for the future.
Lville Class of 2014
One of the most baffling problems an institution in the 21st century faces is its ability to conform to the unpredictable technological age while retaining its unique culture. I think Lawrenceville addresses this issue quite well by endeavoring in projects such as Blackboard and Lotus Notes. Inclusion of both of these led to a more well knit community, an aspect we value here at Lawrenceville. Many other schools go further down the technological road through assigning laptops to each student and mandating that students must bring them to every class. If such a rule were to be established in Lawrenceville, however, it may interfere with the Harkness approach and the natural flow of class discussions. Nevertheless, such a rule may also enrich conversations with the accessible and infinite information found on the Internet. This past summer, Lawrenceville asked the entire school community to read Dwelling in Possibilities, an essay by Professor Mark Edmundson who ponders advantages and disadvantages such as these of technology integration. He eventually deems laptop use in class as preventing students from having an “independent sense of who they are and what they want” (Edmundson 11). Whether this same limitation applies to Lawrenceville is unclear, however where we are in the “technology spectrum” seems to suit the community well. We manage to hang on to two hundred years of culture while showing that we are ready for two hundred more. What I believe will be a step in the right direction for Lawrenceville is that the teachers should decide what side of the argument they believe will be more appropriate for their class- computers or no computers. This will ensure that the students will get the fitting dosage of technology for their success in that subject. The world is considered a better place because of modern day technology. However whether Lawrenceville is and will be is still a question without a perfect answer.
ReplyDeleteAs one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country, Lawrenceville would naturally be expected to be on the cutting edge of technological innovation. But with the hundreds upon hundreds of computer labs, digitized resources, and the “blackboard” system of organization, there is still room from improvement. From my rather limited experience of the school, I have gathered that Lawrenceville has stepped into the technological world, attempting to make computer labs abundant in both the residential houses, and academic buildings. With this goal of “internet access for all”, is seems the money used to create such resources could be more strategically spent. For instance, the amount of computers in the Bunn Library greatly exceeds that of computers stationed in residential buildings. This purpose is unknown to me, and perhaps there is a reason I have failed to take into account, but the library is not a building in which classes are taken, unlike father’s building, which uses computers for language courses. These computers serve little purpose other than to give students Internet access while studying in the library (a contradictory sentiment if you think about it). I believe the funds spent on creating computer “access areas” around the campus could be better spent fortifying a system of “computers for all students”, in which students without functioning, or moderately recent computers, would be supplied one by the school. Although this program is in place already, it could be streamlined and updated, providing every student with a computer, and eliminating the need for computer labs. Requiring students to bring their laptops to class, and perhaps providing students with the audio programming used in labs in fathers building would eliminate the need for these labs altogether. In simpler terms, the money spent on computer labs in the school could be better used to give each individual a laptop (if they currently don’t have one), and installing language audio tools on said computers.
ReplyDeleteIf the above suggestion seems unreasonable, another idea (borrowed from my previous school) could be used. Instead of stationary computer labs that force classes to break and travel to a different room, I suggest a mobile lab, or computer cart that features from 17-25 laptops on it. This mobile lab can be “checked out” by teachers ahead of time, alleviating mix-ups in stationary labs. This would again streamline the computer services at Lawrenceville, and leave more empty rooms for classes, or other offices to be constructed.
My next suggestion centres around the “Blackboard” innovation used by Lawrenceville. Although I have not experienced it, I heard that Blackboard can used a classes actually blackboard, and upload the days notes and discussion points to the internet for use at home. I believe another, albeit unorthodox, way of transferring information for review, would be to physically record class discussions, segments, or entire periods. Although questionable, I believe this would help many students review, or prepare for the next days class. If a student fails in class to understand or follow a discussion, he can review it that night, and come for a follow up the next day in consultation. I believe the possibilities for this method are endless, and would love for Lawrenceville to explore them.
Lawrenceville works well in the technological field, and although it has natural flaws (As all who work in such ways do), they can be molded into monetary, and academic gains for the school.
Technology inevitably makes a huge impact on our everyday lives here at Lawrenceville. Whether for posting assignments on Blackboard or keeping us warm during the winter, it unquestionably affects us in a great way. We need to use our computers to write double spaced, font size 12, Times New Roman papers for our teachers, to secretly listen to music on our computers during study hall; while teachers use it to organize their lesson plans. It provides us a great way to communicate with each other through our email server while Blackboard gives us a way to express our opinions toward one another without even being in the classroom with each other. Sure, technology can be distracting at times and may delay us from completing important tasks at hand. However, I’ve come to see that most of these tasks that we are set out to do today are tremendously hard to complete without some form of technology at our aid. With this plethora of technology, they do more good than bad and I certainly welcome Lawrenceville’s utilization of all these newfound gadgets. As for improvements, well, there’s always room for some. At Lawrenceville, because we’re provided with so much technology some people tend to take advantage of it. Seeing this in my own time here, it’s a bit disappointing to see how distracting technology can be to some people. They preoccupy themselves in study hall while playing Pokémon on their computers and talking to friends. Some feel taking pictures of themselves is time well spent. From observation, students should try to use technology more for the essential things in their lives. I know technology can be fun and it even provides me hours of entertainment, but we can balance both fun and important things while using it. Maybe students could use the more childish things as a reward for doing an online test, researching for their Wiki project, reading an online article pertaining to Athens, and much more. There’s so many options that technology provides for us; that’s probably why the school-wide essay suggests we’re “Dwelling in Possibilities”. But is us being enclosed by all these selections necessarily to our benefit?
ReplyDeleteIn my experience one of the most enriching parts of Lawrenceville culture is the skillful handling of technology by the teachers. Ever since I’ve begun to attend Lawrenceville I’ve found that there is both an increase and a decrease in the role technology plays in my education. I’ve found that my teachers seem to use technology in a familiar but yet experimental way that is just right.
ReplyDeleteFor example, French is the course in which I think that technology is utilized in the best way. My French teacher uses mainly PowerPoints to teach the class new vocabulary, grammar, and concepts. For example, when we learned a new kind of past tense we learned the different conjugations at the beginning of the PowerPoint, then there were sentences in which we had to know which tense to use and how to conjugate the verbs, which was a class participation activity during which the teacher could correct our accents and explain things in a way that is only possible through human to human interactions. Finally, at the end of class the PowerPoint was posted on BlackBoard so that we could review it at our own ease and have a cumulative database of all the PowerPoints used for different subjects covered that we can study from at the end of the term before our final exam. Through teaching in this way we still have the important teacher and student communication and a human touch which is especially crucial when learning foreign languages. However, technology is used beautifully to bring the class together to make sure that everyone understands what we’re learning, and also provides the constant availability that is such a crucial and useful part of technology.
On another side of things, technology is not used nearly as much in my Humanities courses, which I think is a good thing. The Humanities course seems to focus mainly on the art of Harkness discussions, during which I think technology has no place. I think that these traditional discussions in small groups of people are a useful way of teaching how to make a point and at the same time to be a good listener who interacts well with real people. When no technology is used other than the occasional e-mail being sent out, we’re able to focus on getting used to the subtle things about conversation making, which do not exist through technology, such as body language and eye contact.
Overall, I think Lawrenceville so far has struck an excellent balance of using technology adeptly where it is needed and knowing when it would only detract from the learning taking place. However, I think that Lawrenceville has a challenge in front of it because it will have to take an effort in constantly self-evaluating its methods in order to keep up with the rapidly-changing and unpredictable world of technology.
Over this summer, all Lawrenceville students were required to read an essay, Dwelling in Possibilities by Professor Mark Edmundson. The essay commented on the realities of technology use for students in the modern age. After reading this essay, I began to think on a much larger issue, the need of technology for students today. It seems to me that technology is certainly valuable, and through programs such as email, blackboard and word documents we are able to advance educational opportunities enormously. However, like Professor Edmundson, student’s wide-spread use of technology for not just education uses worries me. The acknowledgment that technology is a help to educational is important: to say otherwise would be an untruth. But to suggest technology is essential for learning is wrong. It creates an unhealthy atmosphere for students who come to rely on technology more and more, and seem unable to function without it. If blackboard and lotus notes, the Internet technology programs of Lawrenceville crashed one night, would no work get done and education be harmed? For the most part, No. However, an number of cases of students being unable to complete their assignments because of lack of technology. I frequently come in to class to hear my peers make excuses for their homework by saying their computers crashed, or their Lawrenceville computer accounts did not work. However, only in the extreme cases do I hear a student who has had a like event happen to him and as a replacement, wrote out an assignment with a pencil or used a non technological tool to complete a technological homework. I believe that this is the greatest harm that technology delivers to students. I think that especially in the years before adulthood, high school, teachers should instill into students not only an ability to function efficiently without technology, but the mentality to do so. In the past few years, as I advanced through middle school, I saw technology quickly becoming used educationally and otherwise by younger and younger students. Considering this method of education becoming ingrained in children’s heads as they are progressively less mature, I think high school is the last chance when teachers are able to pass onto kids an ability to self function. I hope that Lawrenceville can continue to use technology and computers to great successes as they already do today. However I hope that through our teachers, my peers and I can learn values of self reliance absent of technology use.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think technology is a great way for students to collaborate their ideas and stay connected. This blog itself is a great example. It allows the entire Lawrenceville community including students, teachers and alumni to exchange and offer up what they know about technology today. In turn it is allowing us to stay connected as a community. I agree with many others that have already posted that it is important to strike a balance between face to face and technological communications. Lawrenceville already strives to be on the cutting edge of technology but also manage to create a sense of community. Lawrenceville also strives to create a family sense within the school, meaning that there are many instances where the entire school can come together. I find that School Meeting is a great place for someone in the community to interact with the entire school by speaking directly to them. Events like the pie fight and Bicentennial are ways that are entire community can come together. I think the mix of these technological advances and community gatherings is how Lawrenceville strikes a great balance.
ReplyDeleteSpecifically, I think Lawrenceville should find a way to integrate technology in its grading system. One great program that I think we should look into is called Infinite Campus. For those who are not familiar with it, Infinite Campus is a program that allows students to check their grades whenever they want to. There grades are automatically updated as the teacher puts them into the computer. There is no extra work needed on the teacher’s part and the students receive the benefit of being able to keep track of their grades more easily.
Before coming to Lawrenceville, I had no technological background and the only time I ever had to use my computer was if I had to write a paper. At Lawrenceville, there is not one day I have gone without touching my computer. Being only a freshman, I think that my two months at Lawrenceville have been full of new experiences that have included technology. In almost all of my classes, technology is used heavily in many ways. For example, in my Spanish class my teacher always uses her computer during class. My teacher makes power points, we watch videos on YouTube and we do listening activities that include the Internet. Something that is really great is there is a program that we can do outside of class called conjugamos where each individual does small quizzes that help improve your Spanish skills. Without these things, I do not believe that my Spanish class would be as great as it is.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to that, outside of classes Lawrenceville students depend on the Internet to get them through their days. There is a program which all of the student’s use called “Black Board” which provides information about homework, what is happening on campus, an academic schedule, sports schedules, grades and basically everything each student needs to know. Also, Lawrenceville has its own email, which is a lifeline for many Lawrenceville students. Almost every hour, emails are sent about important school news and emails are sent from teachers about class. In addition, it is a way for students to contact their teachers no matter what time it is or where they are.
Even though there are many good points of technology at Lawrenceville, there are some negative points as well. In today’s society things such as cell phones and face book exist which can be a great distraction. In class, I sometimes see people texting under the table while a teacher is talking or they are on face book instead of listening to important lectures. Because computers are allowed in all classes, situations like these may become a bigger problem. Maybe in certain classes, accessibility to face book and other social networking websites can be limited or blocked and cell phones can be put in a container in the beginning of class. This way, students will only be able to take notes and listen during class instead of being distracted. In addition, among the freshman girls, there is a computer game that many people are addicted to. It is a big problem because when people could be doing homework in their free time, they are busy spending trying to get to a new level. Overall, I think that Lawrenceville does a great job keeping up to date with technology and the minor faults such as face book can be easily fixed.
@Jamie - we are currently working with Google right now to create a Google Apps domain for Lawrenceville that would give all students access to those tools with special sharing options for the campus.
ReplyDeleteBill Freitas.
Thanks to all the students who have taken the time to comment so far. Your insights are invaluable!
ReplyDelete@Avanti, Thanks for your suggestion about teh importance of students aquiring strong computer skills here. While we're unlikely to add a department or another set of required courses, we are interested in ensuring that all students leave Lawrenceville with foundational computer skills and computer savvy. As a first step, we need to indentify what those skills are and then figure out where they can be most naturally and helpfully embedded in the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteWhat would people's Top 10 list of computer skills/understandings be?
@shubhankar, @ Tresa J, @javanedano14 -- the thoughtful balances that you describe are just what we're trying to achieve.
ReplyDeleteI'd be curious if there are areas where you believe that we as a School rely on technology too much or conversely areas where we don't use it enough?
@Justin -- great questions and suggestions about how to expend our computer resources most wisely and how to configure our computer spaces throughout campus. It made me curious to know what computer spaces on campus students and faculty find most valuable and which least valuable, as well as how best to configure shared computing space to enhance collaboration.
ReplyDelete@L. Cunnningham and @ Amber -- sounds like the foreign language classes are making good use of technology both inside and outside the classroom and that more discussion-based classes are understandably restrained in their in-class use of technology.
ReplyDeleteAre their other in-class or out-of-class uses of technology that would enhance your learning in other subjects/fields?
@Jonathan -- I smiled knowingly when I read your post, because whenever we have a power outage or Lotus Notes goes down, I'm momentarily stopped dead in my tracks -- because I can't access my calendar, my email, and all the files I keep on the server. I then regroup and find that there are plenty of other things that I can do and I find that I enjoy the temporary outage and that I'm able to catch up on some of the reading I haven't done, calls I haven't made, etc. Some schools have tried temporary disconnect days - we may here too, just so we can all experience what it feels like not to be disconnected and reflect on how we behave differently.
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