Comments on: An Old Prophecy Confirmed? On the Uses and Abuses of Laptop Learning

By: Delicious EdTechTalk | EdTechTalk

Delicious EdTechTalk | EdTechTalk — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 07:40:58 +0000

[...] On the Uses and Abuses of Laptops in Education | Beyond School Sun, 2008-06-01 13:27 Some great comments by students on schools trying to ‘look cool’ by giving out laptops. by dajbelshaw [...]

By: 7A LOTS of information!! | Linked to Learning

7A LOTS of information!! | Linked to Learning — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:18:34 +0000

[...] for example and turn it into just a new way to give the same old assignments. Clay’s blog http://beyond-school.org/2008/05/29/prophecy-revisited/ questions and discusses how teachers have to totally change the view of learning and not just the [...]

By: Mark Hopkin

Mark Hopkin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:01:20 +0000

My son and fellow co-learner gave me this link. I think you know Wade from another time and place. It seems we are always trying to create some magic in our classes. And yes, the interruptions break the spell. I go home some days after class discouraged and wishing I could have just captured that magic moment, or given that critical piece of insight, or taught them at least something useful. And then later, my students tell me how much they got out of that lesson, discussion, or assignment. And it hits me again. The magic is not in what I do or what I create. Its in how my students take my stuff, use it in their own way and construct there own view of the world.

Thinking about your 1:1 laptop world, the magic is not in the technology. The magic is in our students innovation and permutations with those learning tools. As teachers we try to fit the same old things we used to do to fit into these new tools. Of course its not just educators trying to retrofit old lesson plans with new and cool teaching stuff. I’m just old enough to remember the development of TV news broadcasting. When TV news started, it didn’t look anything like today. The TV anchor basically just read the newspaper to the camera. It took a Walter Cronkite or a Edward R. Murrow to redefine the media and find new ways of delivering information that the older media hands could not have even imagined.

And so it goes. I find magic and gold in my students as they wander through the maze of uselessness and find meaning. A J.R.R. Tolkien poem from the Lord of the Rings is my favorite

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

By: Wade Hopkin

Wade Hopkin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:33:44 +0000

Hmm…While I certainly try to be cognizant of end-of-the year overload, (one of my students likened last week to having her head opened with a can opener) I’m not sure that creating a quality movie project should take any more time than, say, writing a quality essay, or quality study time for a Final.

Still…if poor Younsuk has to face what amounts to four or five iterations of the exact same final project, I can certainly sympathize.
iMovie is easy. It’s probably the first discovery made by a teacher branching into ‘techi-ness’ for the first time(at least it was by me).
It’s great when the class is doing something well, like a lab or activity, to just say, “Everyone! Flip open your macbooks and record this awesome-ness!”

By: What is a blog? - back to basics! « On an e-journey with generation Y

What is a blog? - back to basics! « On an e-journey with generation Y — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:01:27 +0000

[...] an outlet for commentaries and opinions [...]

By: The Writing on the Wall « Steve Macluskie’s Weblog

The Writing on the Wall « Steve Macluskie’s Weblog — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:00:52 +0000

[...] read an excellent Blog post tonight by Clay Burell on the Uses and Abuses of Laptop Learning where he goes on to point out that Blogging can be just another way to hand in homework to the [...]

By: linzel

linzel — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 05:10:20 +0000

Hrmm, yes and no!
As a science teacher the tech does more for me than simply offer another avenue for assessment and learning. Science is very much about data acquisition and analysis. Reliable data can be used in many ways both to show what SHOULD happen and as a follow up to show what data they SHOULD have acquired but didn’t due to error. Both are educational.

The fact is the whole shebang is wrapped up in a late 19th, early 20th century paradigm - training workers, not thinkers. I do NOT think we are going to get the authenticity we want within the current system. It needs to rehaul from the ground up - or perhaps top [universities] down. Either way fitting the 21st century educational paradigm - whatever we may THINK that to be - into the old is not, in my opinion, the way to go.

We need to remove the walls. I truly mean the structures that frame current classrooms. Time [why 8-4?], age [why not by interest?], curriculum [why can't they decide?].

I encourage you to add your thoughts and designs at:
http://newpath.wetpaint.com/

I really hope to start the school that takes shape. Someone has to! If not us, who. If not now, when?

Cheers

linzels last blog post..Phoenix on Mars - 18:00 hours and counting!

By: Inger Grøndal

Inger Grøndal — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:10:53 +0000

At the moment I’m reading Larry Cuban’s “Oversold & underused - computers in the classroom” which taps right into this same discussion. He analyzes how not only teachers but other professions use new technology to fit their old practice - it doesn’t make them (we) change what they (we) actually do. So I’m not surprised at all at finding teachers using their new tool iMovies for homework assignments and not recognizing how the use of a new tool actually can change the learning experience of the student.

By: skp

skp — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 01:25:52 +0000

Timely post…I’m really struggling with these ideas as I reflect on this year and begin planning for next year. It’s a process. A difficult process.
I’m learning from you, from my students, from other educators…and I’m trying (desperately) to figure out how in the hell I make this all meaningful and relevant and not just to “look cool”.
You’ll be missed here, Clay. It’s good to know that you’ll always be HERE and that you’ll still be in Seoul.
And who took your new picture? It’s excellent.

By: Hot Bookmarks from the Diigo Community

Hot Bookmarks from the Diigo Community — Sat, 31 May 2008 23:50:03 +0000

[...] On the Uses and Abuses of Laptops in Education | Beyond School [...]