Mary Harrsch (Mary_Harrsch@ccmail.uoregon.edu)
Thu, 24 Sep 1998 15:06:19 -0700
>Received: from mail.gmd.de (postix) by zeus.gmd.de with SMTP id AA19969 (5.67b8/IDA-1.5 for <ifetsarc@zeus.gmd.de>); Thu, 1 Oct 1998 10:51:08 +0200
>Received: from mail.gmd.de (postix) by zeus.gmd.de with SMTP id AA11312 (5.67b8/IDA-1.5 for <rashev@zeus.gmd.de>); Fri, 25 Sep 1998 00:13:23 +0200
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 15:06:19 -0700 From: Mary Harrsch <Mary_Harrsch@ccmail.uoregon.edu> Subject: Re: [ifets] Another try - (Fwd) Size of Learning Market; Sto
** Digest version of list available -> more information ->
http://ifets.gmd.de/maillist.html
---------------------------------------------------------
Interesting that you mention the pervasive problem of teachers using
computers as a diversion for children after their "real" work is done. A
friend of mine is completing her doctoral dissertation next month on just
that topic. Sadly, as you point out, she found in school after school that
computer lab time was just a time many teachers used to correct papers in a
corner while children were left to themselves to explore the equipment and
software. The other sad fact she discovered is that most software selected
by the schools was considered basically boring and ignored by students.
Therefore, they spent their lab period drawing pictures with KidPix or
aimlessly browsing the web. It's really a shame because I think they really
want to use the technology in a productive way. I was asked to present at a
workshop, "Women and Girls in Cyberspace", and following my presentation I
spent time with workshop participants helping them find material of interest
to them on the web. One girl told me she was very interested in biology so
I helped her find a web site that allowed her to virtually dissect a frog
and explore amphibian habitats. Another girl was interested in music
(coming from a family of musicians) and I showed her how to find music
tracks on the web and combine them with images to produce music videos using
Adobe Premiere. In the process we explored a number of websites providing
interviews with artists and discussions of various styles with sample audio
clips. (and yes, I even discussed copyright, intellectual property, and
educational use) With just a little effort on the part of a facilitator, a
student's interest in technology can be guided into more meaningful
experiences and then the computer becomes a tool for collaborative learning
rather than a toy - even in the K-12 environment.
Mary Harrsch
Network and Information Systems Manager
College of Education
102-K Education
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
(541) 346-3554
http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/index.htm
-----Original Message-----
From: ifets@gmd.de <ifets@gmd.de>
To: ifets@gmd.de <ifets@gmd.de>
Cc: Mary Harrsch <Mary_Harrsch@ccmail.uoregon.edu>
Date: Thursday, September 24, 1998 2:24 PM
Subject: Re: [ifets] Another try - (Fwd) Size of Learning Market; Sto
** Digest version of list available -> more information ->
http://ifets.gmd.de/maillist.html
---------------------------------------------------------
Mary -
That's very true! I must not have made my point clearly enough: that
computing is a *tool*, but a very important one. I do agree that you
should not be given a Bachelors degree in anything if you can't perform
basic tasks on a personal computer. However, I get frightened when
(K-12) schools spend money on computers for all the classrooms when: a)
the school buildings themselves are badly in need of repair, b) the
teachers are underpaid, and they need to hire more, and c) the teachers
that are there don't know how to integrate the computer into the course
work. [This happened recently in Tuscaloosa.] Computers are not the most
important thing, especially when they become nothing more than toys that
the teachers let children use when they are done with their real work...
I think at this point it is still more important for college students to
be computer literate than it is for K-12. Before I get hate mail, I do
realize that not everyone gets to go to college, but when the
educational system is dealing with limited resources, we must look at
priorities. When we graduate students who can't read, we have no
business focusing on computer skills!
Every college and university should require computer competency.
Period. When I was a student, I worked on a committee to try to add a
basic computer course to the core curriculum. It hasn't happened yet,
but I think people were listening, and I think it will happen. Funny,
though, when I tried to write an essay on this for a scholarship, I was
advise not to, in case the committee was made up of English professors
who might be offended!
--------------------------------------------------
Jaclyn Whitehorn * User Service Consultant
Seebeck Computer Center * University of Alabama
jaclyn@bama.ua.edu * (205)348-8720
---------------------------------------------------------
Forum website: http://ifets.gmd.de/
Email address for sending message to everyone on the list ifets@gmd.de
Forum's contact person ifets-info@gmd.de
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
Forum website: http://ifets.gmd.de/
Email address for sending message to everyone on the list ifets@gmd.de
Forum's contact person ifets-info@gmd.de
---------------------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Thu 01 Oct 1998 - 11:14:09 MET DST