Wednesday, February 11, 2009

inequity in UK

Article Link:
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/research-units/ipse/research-projects/completed-projects/p76.cfm\

This article talked about a study that was conducted in UK in regarding to the connection between technology availability and early childhood education. The article said that they didn't find any significant connection which indicated that technology will lead to better early childhood education and better test scores but did claim that technology provides an essential tool for the children.

My reaction to this article is quite mixed. I have a love- hate relationship with my technology. I love the fact that i can access the world all while sitting comfortably in my dorm But i detest how much i rely on my computer and the internet. I'm pretty sure that if i was separated from the internet/computer i'd suffer symptoms similar to that of a crack addict and cocaine. So therefore, my beliefs agree with the study's conclusion in that introducing computers to early childhood education won't significantly improve their education. It will help them become more tech-savvy in the growing technology dependant soceity but the good come with the bad and
they might grow dependant on it.

However a number of other points in the article disappointed me. "... also suggests an indirect influence of ICT on pupils learning, not through direct links with learning in each subject, but via improved self esteem, engagement and desire to learn." I feel like this is saying that we are teaching kids to want to learn because they get to do stuff on the computer rather than learning for learning sake. Back in my 3rd grade elemtary class we would get math quizes and those that finish the quiz early got to mess around on the computer while the rest of the class finished up. Every single time, there will be a person that just rushes through the quiz just so they can have computer time and not spend actual time thinking through the problems and learning from them.

I guess overall, I disagree with the article's promotion of computers and ICT in schools because introducing computers in childhood education - to me - is just providing another unnecessary stimuli to the already overstimulated youth. And the argument that disadvantaged kids do not have access to computers is invalid because litterally everyone has a computer or can gain access to a computer on a regular basis.

No comments:

Post a Comment