Article Assessment # 5

The Overdominance of Computers by Lowell W. Monke

In this article, The Overdominance of Computers, Monke makes a compelling argument about the use of computers in the classroom. He outlines how teachers need to help students develop responsibility and compassion before setting them loose with technology. Without these key components, students can easily abuse technology and create great injuries to individuals and society. He argues that even though we live in a highly motorized world, we do not teach six year olds to drive. Instead, we concentrate on raising responsible children that will someday bring this outlook into the driving world. In much the same way, at a young age kids need to be encouraged to explore the world around them and interact in person with other individuals. Only after students have explored the world surrounding them and have developed a sense of themselves in relation to the world, should they be encouraged to use technology.

• Computers are powerful tools and can be used for both good and evil.
• Students need to develop ethical discipline in order to resist the temptations presented by technology.
• Kids need authentic experiences rather than the symbolic reality provided by technology in order to become complete, well-functioning adults.
• One study shows that the use of technology overall has lowered the test scores of students.
• Face-to-face interactions are one of the most important keys to reading-readiness.
• The current generation experiences 30% less of face-to-face interactions than previous generations.
• Computer time must be balanced with other activities in school.
• In order to fix the mess that we have made of the world future generations will not need only technical skills but will need to be ethical, responsible adults.
• After students develop responsibility and ethics it is important to introduce technology into the classroom in order to prepare students for the technological world we live in.
• By high school digital technology must be prominent within the classroom.

I think that this article makes some great points and that educators should keep in mind exploration of the real world and human interaction when teaching. While incredibly important at an elementary school level, these things must be remembered even at the high school level. I get frustrated when my students are hesitant to interact with each other face to face but instead ignore the people around them in order to maintain text-message conversations with others. Technology is important and it does have a place in the classroom, but I think that other mediums need to not be forgotten.

Article Assessment #4

Assistive Technologies for Reading: Text-reader programs, word-prediction software, and other aids empower youth with learning disabilities.
by Ted S. Hasselbring and Margaret E. Bausch

In this article Hasselbring and Bausch outline how new technologies can assist students with special needs in the classroom and help them to find success at school. They argue that as more and more special education students are incorporated into the traditional classroom support must be provided to them, and that technology provides a likely solution. They outline the technologies that are available and how they might assist in a myriad of ways from reading selected text aloud to students to providing the necessary background information to kids before they read the material individually. The information and success rates they cite come from Kentucky where the majority of schools have adopted such technologies and have had pleasing results.

• 44 percent of students with learning disabilities spend 80 percent or more of their school day in inclusive classrooms
• These students are expected to perform grade-level work but are not given specialized support.
• As many as 8 of 10 students with learning disabilities have reading problems that are so significant that they cannot read and understand grade-level material without help.
• Text reading software helps these students by reading text aloud and provides them the opportunity to follow along at the same time.
• Students using this software are more likely to go over the information more times than when teachers read aloud to them.
• Word prediction, another feature of the program, predicts what word the student is writing and gives them several options to choose from which helps to speed up the writing process.
• This program also reads back what students have written allowing them to self-correct their work.
• These soft wares provide students who have difficulty reading and writing an equal opportunity to succeed in school.
• Computerized reading training exercises have also proved highly effective in teaching students how to read independently.
• One study reported that after using these programs 18% of students did not require further intervention after one year in the program.

These technologies sound amazing. I can see how they could be used in every subject taught in school. However, I do think that they present their own concerns. It is important to remember when using such technologies that each student must be individually evaluated to find out exactly what they need and how their needs can best be met by the program. It would be incredibly easy to make this technology available for everyone or to over-compensate for student difficulties with these types of programs. I think that if students can benefit from reading training programs that should be the key focus. The other technologies, which help students adapt, should only be used to help students until they are able to do it themselves, or in extreme cases. I wish I had these programs in my health class right now!