Module 3 Post - "Will We Have the Funding?"

Will We Have the Funding for Technology in Education?

In times where teachers, resources and technology are being cut, will we have the money to fund technology in education?  Technology is always changing.  Companies are always looking to outdo their last product.  Look at Apple for instance.  It seems as though every 12-18 months they are putting out a product that goes a bit further than the last.  If you are an Apple customer, you are accustomed to the many software upgrades that you may have to download to your product. 

We are seeing all over the country, and especially here in our own state, how budget cuts affect our education system.  If we cannot fund newer textbooks how are we to fund technology (especially when it's ever changing).  Often times we have schools with outdated computers and how are we to truly equip our students for a tech savy world if we don't have up to par equipment? 

We can search all over the internet and find hundreds of great resources for technology in our classrooms.  There are truly some very innovative things going on in the world of education.  Unfortunately, certain schools and districts don't receive the necessary funding to implement these revolutionary technologies in their classrooms and we're stuck with children who won't be able to keep up with children in areas that are fortunate to provide them extensive experience with the use of technology.

Does anyone else see this as a problem where you are?

Module 1 Post

To answer Dr. McLeod's question:

I do not believe that the entity of education as a whole is doing what's best for our students.  Today, education seems to be politically based.  I say this because depending on who is in office, funds available for education may generous or slim to none.  The entire country is facing cutbacks in many different areas, but some are not.  I feel that education should have more invested in it to produce intelligent individuals who can change the course of our country.  We have an ever changing world and we do not have the resources necessary to prepare our students for these imminent changes. 

Often times, I do feel that many educators do what is convenient for us and not what is in the ABSOLUTE best interest of our students.  I have seen the work that my students have done in other classes and the work is very cut and dry.  But cut and dry I mean the questions don't challenge them to think critically.  The questions and answers are nearly word for word, not making it difficult for students to pick out a simple cut and dry answer.  I have also seen worksheets given to students perhaps on a textbook being read in an English class.  The students will go to the internet and type in the questions and more often than not, the questions come up word for word.  This means that the teacher is using resources that they more than likely found on line.  I do not see anything wrong with teachers accessing the internet for extra resources, but adapt these resources in a way that challenges your students.  Often times students don't need to read the book, they just rely on the information from the worksheets to prepare them for tests and quizzes and they can actually pass with an A or B in a course by doing this! 

We must challenge our students to think at a higher level.  They must be able to problem solve and think critically.  Many students don't understand the concept of problem solving and critical thinking.  We have failed our students horribly.  While there are many teachers doing wonderful work with their students there are far more who are not.  This may have worked for past generations but we have too far of an advanced world to do the same things we did 10, 20+ years ago.  It may be comfortable for us but not advantageous for our students.  So, I do believe that we are doing what is convenient for us and not what is best for our students.