New Technology and Online Exams (July 21 class)
1. While I found Postman's article Some New Gods that Fail entertaining, I appreciated Courtney's comment, during Jeff's section B discussion, about generally being critical of people that "rail against change." I agree that the marketing tools that promote new technologies can appear somewhat far-fetched, like the little kids in the article that learn algebra or Japanese history online when they can't sleep, but I don't think that these marketing shortcomings should cause us to write off new technologies immediately.
We are used to seeing commercials for products that promise miraculous solutions to our problems. For example, I don't use my cell phone to find directions, organize photos, download music as the cell phone companies' commercials suggest. However, I still find my cell phone to be a convenient and valuable tool for my own daily needs. Similarly, I'm sure the average family doesn't use their internet access to teach their children complex scholarly topics when their children can't sleep (as with the example in the article), but that doesn't mean that families do not benefit from the improved interactive features of the web.
During the discussion, we also considered who particular technologies are being invented for, and why we should care about this question. I believe that we should care about this question less than some people would think. For example, designing technologies for the disabled may not be profitable or useful for the majority of U.S. society, but does that mean we shouldn't invest in such technologies? I imagine that most people anywhere left of very conservative economists and policy makers would argue that we are still ethically obligated to continue to improve the lives of the disabled. Another example raised during discussion was designing technologies that would be useful or affordable for only the very rich or top business executives. However, we should consider the fact that many technologies were unaffordable to the average household when they initially hit the market. For example, calculators, PCs, cell phones, and air conditioning were not accessible to average families when they were initially introduced. Many new technologies tend to become adopted by the general population and mass produced for lower prices a considerable time after they are initially marketed.
Nevertheless, as exemplified by the cartoon in my last posting (see below) I do question the benefits of those technologies that take away a student's need to "think". Certainly students should learn how to take shortcuts, such as adding on a calculator, but they should also learn the fundamental processes of math, for example. Somebody commented during our discussion that it wouldn't be tragic if students couldn't add quickly because calculators make that skill somewhat obsolete, but I argue that we are not teaching children to add just for the purpose of their being able to add. When learning concepts like addition, subtraction, three-dimensions, etc, students are also learning how to make connections and a gain a new perspective of how to think about and approach problems...a skill that calculators don't have.
2. Liz's section was fun. I enjoyed particularly the quizyourfriends.com, but less for it's instructional value and more for the fact that it was fun creating a quiz for fellow SMAC-ers. QuizStar seemed more useful for the purpose of testing students, and there were much less popups and ads than the former website. However, I doubt I'll do any serious testing of students online when I'm a teacher. It just doesn't seem that much more convenient then creating, photocopying, and grading a paper exam. However, I could see how online tests could create an inconvenience for my future students, especially those without internet access in their homes. Quizzing online at QuizStar involves the student registering and entering a pre-assigned access name and password. Moreover, students that must find public access to the internet may end up in places that are not conducive to test-taking (like the noisy first floor of a public library). And, how much did we all hate not having the paper option of the GRE? As Steve pointed out to me in a conversation we had about the computer GRE test, online testing disregards many of the test-taking tecniques we learned in school, such as skipping very difficult questions and returning them at the end so time isn't wasted.
We are used to seeing commercials for products that promise miraculous solutions to our problems. For example, I don't use my cell phone to find directions, organize photos, download music as the cell phone companies' commercials suggest. However, I still find my cell phone to be a convenient and valuable tool for my own daily needs. Similarly, I'm sure the average family doesn't use their internet access to teach their children complex scholarly topics when their children can't sleep (as with the example in the article), but that doesn't mean that families do not benefit from the improved interactive features of the web.
During the discussion, we also considered who particular technologies are being invented for, and why we should care about this question. I believe that we should care about this question less than some people would think. For example, designing technologies for the disabled may not be profitable or useful for the majority of U.S. society, but does that mean we shouldn't invest in such technologies? I imagine that most people anywhere left of very conservative economists and policy makers would argue that we are still ethically obligated to continue to improve the lives of the disabled. Another example raised during discussion was designing technologies that would be useful or affordable for only the very rich or top business executives. However, we should consider the fact that many technologies were unaffordable to the average household when they initially hit the market. For example, calculators, PCs, cell phones, and air conditioning were not accessible to average families when they were initially introduced. Many new technologies tend to become adopted by the general population and mass produced for lower prices a considerable time after they are initially marketed.
Nevertheless, as exemplified by the cartoon in my last posting (see below) I do question the benefits of those technologies that take away a student's need to "think". Certainly students should learn how to take shortcuts, such as adding on a calculator, but they should also learn the fundamental processes of math, for example. Somebody commented during our discussion that it wouldn't be tragic if students couldn't add quickly because calculators make that skill somewhat obsolete, but I argue that we are not teaching children to add just for the purpose of their being able to add. When learning concepts like addition, subtraction, three-dimensions, etc, students are also learning how to make connections and a gain a new perspective of how to think about and approach problems...a skill that calculators don't have.
2. Liz's section was fun. I enjoyed particularly the quizyourfriends.com, but less for it's instructional value and more for the fact that it was fun creating a quiz for fellow SMAC-ers. QuizStar seemed more useful for the purpose of testing students, and there were much less popups and ads than the former website. However, I doubt I'll do any serious testing of students online when I'm a teacher. It just doesn't seem that much more convenient then creating, photocopying, and grading a paper exam. However, I could see how online tests could create an inconvenience for my future students, especially those without internet access in their homes. Quizzing online at QuizStar involves the student registering and entering a pre-assigned access name and password. Moreover, students that must find public access to the internet may end up in places that are not conducive to test-taking (like the noisy first floor of a public library). And, how much did we all hate not having the paper option of the GRE? As Steve pointed out to me in a conversation we had about the computer GRE test, online testing disregards many of the test-taking tecniques we learned in school, such as skipping very difficult questions and returning them at the end so time isn't wasted.
posted by Nese @ 15:33
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