Friday, April 19, 2019

Larry Cuban and skepticism

"Getting access to powerful electronic devices for all students and teachers is surely a victory for those who believe in better technologies solving teaching and learning problems. But access does not dictate use, especially the kind of use that vendors and  technophiles ardently seek."
                                                                                               ~Larry Cuban

Wow.  I actually love this statement.  Powerful and very true.  I actually have to throw myself and some of our teachers under the bus on this one.  In my library I have three lock and charge cases filled with ipads (old and new).  These ipads are almost never used for education purposes.  Currently I only have a flex block, which is used for enrichment in the library and therefor do not need them for any curriculum assistance.  I never really thought about the "use" of these ipads until I read Larry Cuban cynical post.  Other teachers in the high school often use the Chromebooks for free time and not for educational purposes.  I bet if we looked at the history on the Chromebooks there were be a decent amount of Google Drive but the rest used for gaming.  I know there are many teachers who do use the Chromebooks for their intended purpose but not all.  I do agree that better technologies are not going to solve teaching and learning problems.  Using technology needs to be completely intentional and teachers need to be present!

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