Much lip service has been given to making classrooms
supportive of 21st Century technology skills. But what exactly are those and how do
educators support this? Clearly,
computers and other devices are here to stay and students in elementary school
through high school need appropriate access to these devices as well as
instruction on the skills necessary to build meaningful connections between the
technology and their learning. Having a
computer lab in every school might have been a starting place for schools 20-30
years ago, but today one hour weekly contact with technology will not put a dent
in the computer competency and technology literacy required to become a digital
citizen in our global, interconnected world.
Students need daily opportunities to demonstrate and flex their computer
skills, which will allow them to acquire the ability to maneuver through the basics
of word processing, spreadsheet use, designing PowerPoint presentations, and
navigating the Internet.
William Pflaum in his book, The Technology Fix: The Promise
and Reality of Computers in Our Schools, (2004), rightly concludes that, "technology must be a servant of content not a substitute for it,” (p.119). In some schools this tension between which
comes first can be a conundrum with a vicious cycle; in order to learn skills,
teachers assign tasks on computers, but if students haven’t learned basic
skills, like, for example, cutting and pasting, drawing text boxes, saving work
to folders or flash drives, then these tasks overwhelm the learning experience
and content takes a backseat. Finding
meaningful tasks and age-appropriate content to develop curriculum whereby
computers can support the “dynamism,” Pflaum (2004, p.90), identifies as key in
successful technology-literate schools can be challenging, but is the next required step
in supporting 21st Century competencies. It is not enough to have students read their
textbooks on e-readers. It is not enough
to create a PowerPoint at the end of a unit.
These are examples of what Pflaum deems as style over substance or
mechanics over meaning.
Fundamentally, computers and other technological advances work
best in the classroom that is grounded in Constructivist Theory. Constructivism holds that all knowledge is
created within the learner and built upon prior knowledge and learning experiences. This theory is related to the Russian psychologist,
Lev Vygotsky’s concept of the Zone of Proximal Development. ZPD is the idea that students can add to
their already acquired knowledge within a certain range of new context or
information, but anything that is not within that range is out of reach of
their current learning potential or meaning-making ability. It seems to me that project-based learning
fits squarely into these two theories and works well with technology. Pflaum
reports on biology, physics and poetry projects that have components ideal for
project-based modules and assignments.
Designing such projects requires more engaged teachers, not
less. Just as Thomas Edison wrongly
concluded that moving pictures would eventually replace teachers, it would be
wrong to conclude that technology will someday render educators obsolete. Engaged teaching is the main ingredient in
successfully incorporating technology into the K-12 educational experience. As information becomes more readily
available, all the more need for highly effective teachers to show students how
to filter and synthesize the vast quantity of data on a subject. Not all data is worthy of the same attention. Educators can help students learn to separate
the wheat from the proverbial chaff. Coupling learning theory, solid content
and regular access to modern computers and other technology along with
project-based learning modules, educators should be establishing a good
foundation for student learning for today and into the future.
