While schools such as Center
for Economic Performance in London are banning digital devices in classrooms,
there are other schools doing the complete opposite. In this digital age,
researchers are finding the time of pen and paper has come to an end. Paper
assessments are occurring less and less as digital devices become more and more
accessible for classrooms. “Our student’s brains have indeed been rewired for
the 21st century where innovation and creativity are valued over the drill,
kill, and bubble fill requirements of outdated tests.” Since “Nearly 60% of
teens use their own mobile devices in school for learning even when schools are
not supporting such use,” many schools have instead decided to embrace this
tool. They begin by encouraging the uses
of phones and tablets by creating school assignments that cater to this new
learning style and have found that many students who text are increasing their literacy
skills. “we must support students in effectively, respectfully, and responsibly
USING their digital resources which they will need to succeed in their
connected world.”
Computers
have been making their way into classrooms since 1975, making the decision to
eliminate paper assessments long-time coming. While I agree we need to embrace
and apply the means of the 21st century, I disagree in the aspect of
writing off the paper assessments unless it means allowing the students scratch
paper to write on during the exams. Even though our world is in the digital
age, I wonder how it will impact our student’s eyesight and ability to focus,
when all this time is spent on looking at computers and other screens.
As for the standards, I feel this article touched base
with the ISTE standards of a teacher and not students. The students do need to
apply Standard 5: Digital Citizenship and demonstrate their responsibility and
ethics while taking the exams. For teachers, this exhibits Standards 3, 4 and 5
to keep students engaged as well as keeping themselves responsible and up to
date with modern teaching methods.
Nielsen, L. (2015) New Research:
Banning Cell Phones Prepares Students for The Past. The Innovative Educator.
Becca, I feel like some of the skepticism you’ve expressed here quite closely mirrors some of my own. I like your idea: “While I agree we need to embrace and apply the means of the 21st century, I disagree in the aspect of writing off the paper assessments unless it means allowing the students scratch paper to write on during the exams.” I agree. If we are now going to administer (at least some significant) percentage of tests digitally, why do we simultaneously have to completely jettison paper-usage? Mathematics is the obvious subject that comes to my mind when pondering this. There are many ways to describe what math is, but surely one description that works is: math is an art form. Without citing any evidence here, I have an intuition that there’s an inextricable link between the art form itself and the process of how one acquires/procures/learns the art form. As I sit here writing this, I’m listening to Miles Davis’ great jazz recording, “Kind Of Blue.” I think “Kind Of Blue” is still the most popular/consumed jazz album of all time. One of the reasons “Kind Of Blue” is so lovely is due to the fact that Miles didn’t allow the musicians any access to the musical material before the recording session date. Normally, not practicing/perusing the music beforehand would not only be ridiculously unprofessional, but, moreover, probably a sure guarantee that you’d never be called to play a session ever again. But on “Kind Of Blue” this approach/means/method, radically changed the outcome. In this case, this fundamental change in procedure yielded the spontaneity and improvisation that Miles suspected might be there; the process itself affects the outcome. Jackson Pollock the abstract impressionist painter is another good example of this phenomenon. Saying it another way: the outcome is never independent of the process. Mathematicians have been working-out problems and ideas via paper for a long time; the computer is a very new tool in this art form. Wouldn’t it be presumptuous – and naïvely arrogant – for us to assume that jettisoning the usage of paper is not big deal? Isn’t the usage of paper itself deeply and fundamentally embedded into the art form itself?
ReplyDeleteI like what you said here, too: “Even though our world is in the digital age, I wonder how it will impact our student’s eyesight and ability to focus, when all the time is spent looking at computers and other screen.” Seriously! This is a whole other can of worms. Just like my point in the last paragraph, aren’t we again being dangerously presumptuous to just skate over/past major change? How can all this screen time NOT have at least some negative effects on our children?
I enjoyed your post, Becca.