The
“Then and Now” of Teaching English
Teaching English can be a challenge no matter what
you do or how you do it. When I asked Mrs. Sherri Bell what she thought about
teaching English then and now after the internet came in play, her reaction was
“Wow! Do I have a lot to say about that.” What it used to be and what it is
now, is completely different and the students are grasping this at a pretty
rapid pace. When listening to Mrs. Bell talk about what she used to do and what
she does now it’s apparent the internet in schools along with additional
technology features has vastly improved the learning curve of today’s students.
She said when she first started teaching 40 years
ago, they had typewriters and mimeograph machines. Any error meant careful
scraping and praying that it printed. She is still nostalgic about that aroma.
Then when the overhead projector happened, she said they all thought they were
in heaven. What an improvement over the opaque projector. Of course, visuals in
the classroom were still posters, filmstrips, and 16 millimeter film reels.
Although we finally had our first computer in the English dept. in the late
80s, it had small capacity but made typing without errors a dream. Having a
copy machine was divine.
To help her with the internet and technology today her room is equipped
with an iPad cart containing 30 iPads and a Mac book. She also has available
student response systems (no longer needed due to Insight 360) a document
camera, a laptop, projector, and Apple TV. Two of the teachers in her
department have the iPads and the department has a computer lab. She relates it
to being in technology heaven and hell. When I asked why she thought that, her
response was when it works, it is beyond wonderful but when it is glitchy, it
is a nightmare. She said classroom time is so constrained that when things
don't work the way planned, a teacher could lose an entire class period. She
has a rule of thumb and that is 10
minutes max. There is almost always a way to attack the assignment whether it
is plan A, B, or C. Pen and paper still work, but it is much easier to read
typed. One real drawback is cheating. Kids don't see much of an issue going to
the internet to find information on a novel during a test. Their cell phones
must be put on the desk face down during testing to try and prevent this. Many
of her students turn in their work by sending it electronically and sometimes they
have transmission issues. It is a modernized version of the dog ate my
homework. From the Pew Internet and Life Project, one of the things they
covered was instant messaging as a homework helper. They said “For
instantaneous help with vexing homework, online teens at times turn to friends,
classmates, and teachers via instant messages or email. Forty-one percent of
online teens say they use those communication tools to contact teachers or
classmates about schoolwork. If we need help on homework, it’s great because
you can get 3 or 4 people working on a really tough problem together.” Graziano,
M., Lenhart, A., & Simon, M. (2001, September 1).
She loves having film clips, virtual field trips, and music at her
fingertips. These kids have grown up with technology and far more advanced than
she is. Sometimes she is the student, and they are the teacher and that suits
her just fine. She said if she could have a wish, it would be to have permanent IT help on-campus. She said without
it, it teaches her something about patience. “According to the Pew and
Internet, the most recent Pew Internet Project survey finds that 87% of all
youth between the ages of 12 and 17 use the internet. That translates into
about 21 million people.” Hitlin, P., & Rainie, L. (2005).
When asked if she had to go back, could she do it and she said, “Yes,
but not willingly”. Technology allows students to create technologically
developed masterpieces. It allows for collaboration among students, as well as
students and teachers----especially during research. Technology enhances
communication and creativity.
She said of all the
education courses that she took in the early seventies, everything--and she did
mean everything--came back to Piaget and
the stages of intellectual growth. Bruner (discovery learning), brain theory,
Vygotsky and zone of proximal development, Gardner's intelligences, and even a
newer appreciation for Dewey happened later. There are obviously more, but she’s
sure she hit the ones later that best fit her philosophy and style. As far as she
was concerned Lev Vygotsky is an educational God. He understood that you have
to know where kids are starting (zone of proximal development), build on that
capacity, and stretch them to higher levels of success. The gradual release
model that is so popular now is just a repackaged version of his research. What
students can do with teacher guidance and small group effort can eventually be
done independently. It is all about building capacity. Since the Internet has
everything on the planet--good, bad, and untrue, students are not terribly
discriminating. They also see no issue with lifting information and claiming it
as their own. With that said, I do not think the Internet is all bad. Students
have the opportunity to research anything that would like to know more about in
a way that is far easier and more enjoyable than searching through the rows of
books in a library. When my students research, we often find many of our
sources on the Internet. However, students have to be taught how to discern
quality from trash sources. That is paramount for their success now and in the
future.
One of the greatest things she said
was, “kids are so plugged into technology that, for some, it is like drug
withdrawal when they can't use it. One day before I retire, I expect a student to
break out in a cold sweat, have the shakes, and scream "I HAVE to have my
fix!" (of technology). They never go anywhere without their phones. It is
almost like a pacifier for them. Weird! I like my cell phone, but I don't want
to be chained to it.” According to a quote in our reading that stated, “Change may not be easy, but it is
necessary, inevitable and often beneficial. Whether your students succeed or
fail depends in part upon how well you leverage your full intellectual
capital.” Arsham, H. (2002, March).
Mrs. Bell has had discussions about social network
sites and what they post. She reminds them that some universities make a
practice of viewing those. If they are being pictured in any situation that
would be inappropriate, that university is going to think long and hard about
offering admission, much less a scholarship.
In conclusion, the days of paper, pens, filmstrip,
typewriters and good ole research out of books is pretty much gone. Research is
on the internet whether it be good, bad or indifferent. Student’s desire to be
on the internet and in every aspect of social media. They love it, they embrace
it. Teachers who are proactive with
their learning will be the teachers that survive this round of technology and
their students will be the advanced learners of this society.
Arsham, H. (2002, March). Impact of the internet on learning and
teaching. USDLA Journal, 16.3. Retrieved on November 17, 2009, from
http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/MAR02_Issue/article01.html
Graziano, M., Lenhart, A., & Simon, M. (2001, September 1). The
internet and education: Findings of the pew internet and American life project.
Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved on November 17, 2009, from
http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2001/PIP_Schools_Report.pdf.pdf
Hitlin,
P., & Rainie, L. (2005). The internet at school. Pew Internet and American Life
Project. Retrieved on November 17, 2009, from
http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2005/PIP_Internet_and_schools_05.pdf.pdf
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