Computers in the classroom
Are computers in the classroom a help or a hindrance to our children?
I was scanning the CBCNews website and came across an article written by Robert Smol about getting computers out of the classroom. He argues that children are losing their researching skills and, thanks to word processors, their ability to write without spelling or grammatical errors. Robert says:
Every year I encounter more and more university-bound senior students who do not know the difference between words such as “their” and “there” or “too” and “to,” since word processing programs don’t always pick up the error.
“Sew bye virtue of spell Czech their wood seam too bee nut thing rung width work like this.”
Strangely enough, this very morning I was proofreading my grade 7 son’s homework assignment, “Write 10 creative their sentences.” Four of the ten sentences were incorrect. He was using their when it should have been they’re. My son is a smart child, and no, I’m not just saying that because I’m his mother. Once I explained to him why the sentences were wrong, he fully understood and did fine coming up with different examples.
Photo by Michael Surran
So, what’s my point? My 12 year old, though he has computers in his classroom, is still being taught the difference between similar words. He’s also being taught various researching methods. He’s had assignments in the past where he was required to use 3 different resources, making him reach out beyond the internet. I think computers in the classroom have advantages that far outweigh the disadvantages. They make information more easily accessible on the whole, which means kids are more likely to look something up that they’re curious about with a computer handy, rather than if they needed to take the time to go to their school or public library.
With that said, I do, in part, agree with Robert. Not that long ago, I came across one of my old journals from grade 3, as well as a research project I did on Jupiter. Comparing not just my spelling and grammar, but also the level of neatness to that of my son and his peers (girls included), there was a huge difference. Is this because our kids are spending more time typing than they are writing?
There needs to be a happy balance, I believe. I think there are significant benefits to having computers in the classroom, but teachers – as well as parents – need to also teach their kids other ways to get information, educate them that not everything you read online is necessarily fact, and, perhaps, put a pencil in their hands a little more often.
computers are machines and will never be as valuable as human interaction. Kids still need to practice handwriting..I encourage my kids to handwrite their assignments , and to look for info in books as well as the internet. I feel that the computer should be used as a ressource only…not replacing the teacher or any other human interaction..
I am a teacher of primary students and feel that there should be more computers in every classroom. Children are growing up in a technological world and need to be prepared in order to succeed. There are plenty of opportunities at school and home for children to be learning grammar and printing/writing,and it is our job as teachers and parents to use these opportunities to teach them the facts. It is also our job, teachers and parents, to teach our children where to find information other than through the computer.
As a student, I feel computers are a hindrance in the classroom. Yes, they have many benefits and offer easy access to an abundance of information which is why they are perfect in libraries but unnecessary in class. Besides much more students disregard the teacher’s lessons with the internet before them than they do with just the temptation of another pupil.
Rhonda, the word Internet is spelt with a capital letter.
I don’t think that it’s necessarily the classroom that is the issue, it’s the home environment as well. These days computers and video games are taking the place of babysitters to allow parents more time to do other things around the house or work overtime. Kids aren’t getting out as much as when I was a child. I’ve noticed that most kids prefer to sit in front of a TV rather than go outside and play imaginative games since video games do the imagining for them.
As for school, it’s the teachers who are reliant on computers and not only the students. My sister has just entered first grade and she comes home with assignment sheets that have grammarical and spelling errors in the instructions. She also received a fill-in-the-blank assignment with a typo! My mother had to bring this to the teacher’s attention the following day. How are these children supposed to learn when the teachers aren’t even proof-reading, relying on spellcheck and grammarcheck themselves? Even if they catch the error at the last minute, why not bring the error to attention in class and explain why it is wrong and have the students correct the error on their sheets to teach them proper proof-reading skills? That’s what the teachers did when I was younger. Despite all this, my sister can operate and understand applications on the computer.
Children are practicing computer skills these days that are beneficial to their future career choices, however I’m afraid it’s at the expense of essential reading and writing skills.
Computer are an asset in the classroom.
When kids leave school they have to be computer literate
and the sooner they start the better.
Access to the computers needs strict control, and free access to the internet should not be allowed.
Most schools have there own network so that kids can access their work
and school subjects.
As long as this is controlled and restricted to the school accademic programs it allows kids to study learn and become computer literate
It allows use and tutorship in the basic programs
Free access to the internet should not be allowed.
Once an education program is set up it can be used to allow all kids to
work at the same level regardless of the teachers ability.
It allows kids to catch up should they be off school for sickness etc without slowing down the rst of the class. It allows teachers more time to check on the work progress and saves paper pens pencils, cutting down on waste, as only the final work needs printing out.
Computers are good tools if utilised correctly. They allow kids to find out for themselves all about the world around them and encorages them to think and enquire more.
Control is the key not restiction or banning. Once you ban something its lost for ever. And cant be easily reinstated.
I teach English as a Second Language to new immigrants to Canada. There are so many good comments here and what a great article to start the discussion. I specifically teach my students in a computer classroom because I am teaching them workplace skills – beginner level keyboading, wordprocessing skills, spreadsheet and other office skills. As an English instructor, I always teach the difficult parts of English such as sentence structure, verb tenses and the homonyms such as there, they’re and their, its, it’s, and so on. I comment to my students that they are probably getting a better basis in English because they are learning about the grammar rules. I think some teachers are doing both new technology and basic English grammar rules. Some teachers are not. I believe that our children should learn about both. They will be better self-critics and improve their writing abilities. They will also be better prepared for college and university.
Happy Thanksgiving to all !!
I think there should be computer classes. But work should not be done on a computer with exception to a final draft of a paper. We are just teaching out kids to be lazy, and exposing them to a lot of uneccessary or wrong information by using the internet. Not to mention, a lot of families still cannot afford to have a computer or the internet. The day I buy my 14 yr old a laptop for school, is the day hell freezes over! There are so many teens out there that can barely spell, or even write legibly. God forbid, we teach our children to read a book, or heck write something. I was also one of the people who had access to computers, but was only allowed to use them for my writing and only for the final draft. I didn’t get to even use a calculator until I could prove to the teacher that I could actually do the work. Now it seems we just teach our children how to be lazy. If they can’t do it by hand, they shouldn’t be using gadgets either.
Well said :)
As I read this article many thoughts of my own children growing up came to my mind. They both learned to use a mouse almost before they could talk. There were also a plethora of books at all levels available in the home. On separate occasions, during teacher/parent interviews, I was told by their respective teachers that they read too much! Of course, the teachers both prefaced their comment with a disclaimer that they had a hard time believing they were about to make such a statement (and the issue was actually the timing of their reading – they would sneak books into class to read during lessons). As my children approach young adulthood, I feel they have both benefitted immensely from exposure and ready access to computers (even if they DID start on DOS 3.1.1). They are both creative individuals with good critical thinking skills. For them, the computer has been a tool – a resource some days, a source of entertainment others, even a guide through emotional struggles as they found people all over the world to reach out to and share thoughts and emotions with. Some things you wont share with your parents, but a total stranger in Zimbabwe seems to have the wisdom of the world…
I also thought of my struggles in school with penmanship. Writing or printing was a chore beyond belief, and my writing was often almost illegible. I learned to type at an early age, to the relief of my teachers and cramped fingers. Correct spelling (and accurate typing) were still important however, as correction tape and white-out were not readily available. Back-space was something of board games or hop-scotch, but NOT a key on my old Royal typewriter. I discovered computers through punch-cards and paper tape. These tools allowed me access to a miracle machine that would do my bidding – as long as my syntax and algorithms were correct. But mis-spell one command, or forget a comma or brace where it was required and the whole thing ground to a halt. Nowadays, the computer will politely ask you (via a friendly little paper-clip perhaps) if you REALLY meant to say “this” instead of “that”, or if your spreadsheet formula might function better if you enclosed a statement with another bracket perhaps.
Did a teacher, many centuries ago, bemoan the advent of readily available papyrus and charcoal, as now his students would not learn the skills of memorizing the stories of their history, and developing the art of story telling? If they could just write it all down and look at it later, soon they would just be readers of books, and the art of communication and talking to one another would die. What would become of minstrels and the players in theatre. There would be no more need for them, and soon they would be lost arts.
Or perhaps with the advent of the printing press, scholars worried that penmanship would become a thing of the past. Surely by the distant future of say, the 18th century, people would have lost the writing skills of their ancestors. Quills and inkwells would only exist in museums, and whole generations would have lost the ability to express themselves.
Progress causes change. There are some losses associated this. Few books printed today have the appeal of an illuminated work, hand scribed by monks over decades. The reality of today’s world is that computers are an integral part of our world. No matter what profession our children choose, they will have to learn how to communicate in a digital world. In some cases, this will mean using “chat lingo” to abbreviate words and phrases in order to get a thought across as quickly as possible (how many people still learn shorthand?) Research methods shall evolve, as they aways have. Dewey introduced the ‘Google’ of his age. I don’t know what the future of grammar is, but I am certain that people will continue to find a way to communicate their thoughts clearly to those around them. The curiosity of the human mind will not be subjugated by a 32-bit microprocessor running a search engine. Computers are here and at the forefront for now – until some grander technology condemns them to the same fate as the printing press, the slate table and the card catalogue – they will become so common and integrated that no one will question their place in the world.
As a sidebar, viewing the comments there are substantial arguments to be made on both sides of the question simply by the careless and glaring grammatical and spelling mistakes made in most of the posts (Stephan being the ONLY exception as far as I could tell). Most of these mistakes are likely caused by the author being more interested in making a point than taking the time to proof-read and correct every minor typing error. Our minds move far faster than our fingers can possibly keep up to, so sometimes our grammar and spelling suffers in a forum like this. Does the same thing happen to students in school? Of course it does. Keep the computers in the classroom, but teach the teachers how to integrate them into the curriculum in the most effective way possible.
And in the spirit of Stephan’s post – my pet peeves: ‘then’ instead of ‘than’ (or vice versa), ‘woman’ = singular; ‘women’= plural, and proper contractions, hyphenation and compounding of words (‘nowadays’, not ‘now a days’ for example)
…and despite proofing my post before pressing “Submit” (I hate it when computers say that to me!) I still missed my own errors, “…hand scribed over decades by monks.” would be far better construction, and I meant to say “slate tablets, not “slate tables.” Simply careless…
As computers are already taking up too much space in our lives and are taking with them too many jobs. I strongly support taking them out of classrooms. Using your hands and looking for something by yourself is the surest way to learn. Computers are replacing hand made art. It can also make people feel like the useless slaves of technology. Children need to be stimulated and it’s not by having a machine do everything for them that this will be achieved. With today’s text and email, some children have more interpersonal problems and have a harder time with their communication skills. Computers are already everywhere, so I fully agree with limiting their use a bit. Some would argue that computers are more environmentally friendly because of the reduced paper use but the petrol based plastics and precious resources that go into building them sadly goes to waste shortly after. Technology has a short shelf life.
Diane – I seriously question your inference that texting and email is causing an increase in the number of children that have interpersonal and communication skills. Do you have any data to back this up? My own experience, though anecdotal, implies the exact opposite. Access to a greater number of methods to communicate with one another seems to improve their ability to express themselves in an ever greater number of ways. Photoshopped pictures with poems added; slideshows with theme music; web pages and blogs – all of these are communication. Far broader and richer in some ways than any generation of the past has been able to achieve. Sometimes what they have to say is somewhat uncomfortable perhaps. But that is a reflection of many aspects of our culture, not just computers.
I posted an opinion. Why do people always have to have data to have credibility? Where did the value of human intuition go? I see with my own eyes too many children who instead of sitting at the table and conversating with other people, hide behind their cell phones and laptops and never say a word. Face to face communication skills is an important part of finding and keeping a mate later in life. If a child is very expressive in the virtual world but is very reserved in the real world, that can make it difficult when the time comes when that person has to interact with people in the workplace. It doesn’t take DATA to see that. If you are raised pressing buttons at school and then coming home and pressing buttons on the family pc or videogame, where do you learn your people skills? Computers and technology are so deeply woven in our daily lives. If we make them part of every aspect of daily living, we are only turning our children into the slaves of technology. Skills are important when it comes to long term survival. Our technology has made life so instant and on hand that most of us could not survive on our own if we had to do without. Making something with your hands gives one a sense of purpose. Sitting there letting the corporate machines do everything for you does not.
Opinions, of course, do not have to backed by any data other than your intuition. The reason I asked IF you had any data was to clarify what the basis of your statement was, since it seemed to presented as an established fact. My own observations are also an opinion. We have both interpreted our observations of how children interact with technology, and have come to different conclusions. Your opinion is as valid as mine, but neither has the credibility to be stated as FACT without research data. Most of your arguments could have been used to condemn the telephone when it was the latest technology to change how people interact. Are there people who can talk up a storm on the phone, but clam up because they are shy or embarrassed in person? Of course. Is it the fault of the telephone? I personally do not think so, But that is only my opinion, so you are welcome to dispute that. In my role as an educator I have the opportunity to interact with many young people, and my observation is that they generally appear to have made technology their slave, rather than the other way around. And to answer your question on where they learn their interpersonal skills, I would have to say that they are learned on the playground, in the cafeteria, student lounges and other places where class in NOT in session. The issue being debated surrounds computers in the classroom, where interaction is structured around the lessons being taught.
One last thing. Art in the virtual world is every bit as valid a form of expression as any statue, carving, pottery, oil canvass, fine woodworking, beautiful garden or any other work created with your hands. I personally, can achieve a sense of purpose through the use of my mind OR my hands. Mr. Steven Hawking has certainly earned the right to feel a sense of purpose and accomplishment. But his creations were not done by hand, now were they? Do not assume that computer literacy and the ability to integrate technology into one’s life condemns us to subjugation by the corporate greed machine. We have television and advertising to do that! :-P
Ok valid point. You have to agree though that digital art is fast becoming more available than hand made art. I’m going a bit off subject here but years ago, the cartoons on tv were hand drawn. Now instead of hiring cartoonists, clay animators and the people who go along with it, they can downsize by having less people do the work in less time. I just used this as an example. The availability of digital art and its cheap cost are in my opinion pushing the artists who do take their time and use their hands on the side lines. Many people prefer to pay a small amount for a piece of art that was printed and mass produced than pay more for something that took time, effort and sometimes love to create. I know this can be debated very heavily on all sides. It’s just my take on it. As an artist, I find that just the cost of breaking even is often too high for the average person to buy in comparison to what is available from the assembly line.
All you have to do is to look the atrocious spelling and grammar of some of the responses. We all make mistakes at times but computers have helped to a large extent. While you are at it we need to remove calculators from math classes as most young people can’t do simple arithmetic in their head.
I agree to some extent. I have seen an alarming decrease in simple arithmetic skills in younger generations. I was shocked when my daughter’s grade two school supplies list included a calculator, and that was over 10 years ago.
However – I also remember using a slide rule and log tables, and working out roots long-hand. I do think calculators belong in upper level math classes to expedite some of the tedious, mind-numbing work that was not integral to the lesson at hand.
To continue Stephan’s comment regarding his pet peeves, my own are:
‘alot’ instead of a lot, ‘try and jump’ instead of try TO jump (or whatever verb is applicable here); ‘more then’ instead of more than; the improper use of there, their and they’re; and finally my biggie (DRUM ROLL) – ‘I seen’ instead of I have seen or I saw. These are rampant in the English language and that is a sad sad statement!!!!
And let’s not forget “You did well.” instead of the atrocious “You did good.”
I’m a university student, and LOTS of people have laptops. The funny thing is, after they finish taking notes on their computer, I ask them what they just typed and they can’t remember it. Paper and pen all the way!
Ms Callow’s opinion piece is an illustration of what is happening to the intellectuality of our society. The piece, lightly informative and somewhat opinionated, was a headline on the sympatico news wire. It is not a piece of news, it contained no news and, yet, was given the appearance of having something newsworthy to contribute to the day’s current events. Had there been something factual, a study that commented on technology in the classroom, on her web journal, the argument could be made Ms Callow was contributing to the debate between technocrats in education and Luddites; she wrote about her son and sympatico thought it worthy enough to re-publish. Computers in the classroom may have already done a lot of damage.
As I am reading through the comments of those involved with education, teachers, trustees, etc., I can’t help but wonder; why is it that with such great educators we are still producing so many illiterate public and high school graduates?
Other than a few university bound graduates the rest are totaly clueless.
I think that one reason for this is that teachers are not allowed to fail students. We are not allowed to take marks off for assignments being late. And we are not allowed to take any measures if an assignment is not even handed in! How are you supposed to reach students if they know that it doesn’t matter?
Six years ago, having just finished a 4 year Masters degree, my brother-in-law went to Teachers’ College in Australia. He could not take his computer with him, so left it with us. I’ll admit I was a little curious & nosey, so I pulled up a couple of his university assignments he had stored in Word. I was, to say the least, shocked! There were spelling errors throughout, improper use of “their”, “they’re” & “there”, and “its” and it’s”, not to mention sentences that weren’t a complete thought. My fourth-grade teacher would not have accepted an assignment like that!
My daughter was born the week he left for Austalia, and it scares me to death that the generation of teachers I am entrusting with her education may not have a grasp of basic grade school spelling and grammar. Computers are a useful tool, but education has to come from teachers and parents.
To add to the discussion, students MUST be taught HOW to research using the internet. Using wikipedia to get information is not research. As well, teach students how to look for fake websites. For example, check out http://www.gatt.org and http://www.wto.org – as adults we should easily be able to tell the real site versus the fake. But I know my students would not have the same ability. At least until they have been taught to look for the “tells” such as “about us” “contact us” “copyright” and “disclaimers”. And the proliferation of fake websites will only continue to grow. As the commenter said above, at least with a paper encyclopaedia – you can trust in the information.
Many students do not go further than the article they researched (or summary there of) from the web. They take it as truth, without regard to critically analizing whether the research is primary (anacdotal)or inconclusive, what level of testing, was it anacdotal (practical), was there some physical science done, what was the study groups used, and again was it conlusive and to what group would it be applied to. Also was there contrary research. This would especially apply to human science. Students have to know where to find the research papers, and to be critical. Not just to use summarized articles on a research to make a point for their paper. I always reply who says and why? Then I steer them towards where to find the studies and the most important how far reaching was the study, conclusive? inconclusive? small study etc. AND NOT ONLY SHOULD THEY, I FEEL THEY MUST SAY THIS IN THEIR OWN PAPER.
As a Primary teacher in Ontario, I can tell you that these issues (computers and legible hand-written work) are discussed frequently in the hallways with parents, in our staff room at recess, and in staff meetings. I know that children not only should be fluent users of computers at a very early age but many need this type of differentiated instruction. It is every teacher’s responsibility to find out what pieces of the puzzle their students’ need and point them towards success. Computers represent one facet of their multi-faceted education. Computers may also represent more to the young generation of children that I see in my classroom. Their brains don’t work the ways that ours did 40 years ago. Our world was much more predictable, routine, and slower paced. The quick-thinking, multi-tasking child does well now but this may be at odds with our goals for higher-order thinking as driven by our profession and our curriculum. One last point, the ability to print legibly in mentioned in each primary grade under Specific Expectation 3.7, in brackets as an example. It is superseded by hundreds more in the Language document. If you want to be active participants in resolving a very real problem in our youth, please read the curriculum documents (www.edu.on.ca) and try to find a better way to juggle the multitude of needs of today’s student. So, it all comes back to the balance that is struck (or attempted) by the classroom teacher. It is a massive job. The only ones trying harder than teachers in the classrooms are the students who are holding onto the roller coaster for dear life.
P.S. I had to run this through spell check too. I have never been much of a speller!
***thunderous applause***
And a grateful “Thank-you” to an obviously dedicated professional.
Bla Bla Bla. For all of you who decry the penmanship and work ethic of our society’s junior ranks, perhaps you should turn the webcam on yourselves. Teachers, like computers, are tools – they aren’t web links (or avenues in old speak)to abdicate your responsibilities as parents to educate your children. No, I’m not pushing homeschool.
As a father, I insist on my 8 yr old daughter’s penmanship to be neat; and because I can remember my mom doing the same, but her cursive to be barely legible, I also try to be neat with my writing. I support her teacher’s assignments and suppliment her education. I lead by example, let her make mistakes, and help her when she lets me. The Library to us is like part of our house, my children are so familiar with it; and they are just as comfortable behind a keyboard as they are behind hard copy.
If you’re dissatisfied with your progeny’s performance, be proactive, and be posative (ie, “we can do it this way” instead of “don’t do that” or “WTH are you being taught in school these days?!”). And if you’re not a parent or a teacher… then your opinion doesn’t really count for much, does it?!
Disclaimer: I did not spell check nor grammer check this post and it pained me not to use netspeak. tbh idc if u <3 me or not =P
Well said – BUT (!) – I don’t think you can disenfranchise someone simply because they are not a parent or an educator. They may be a future employer with a definite right to have a say in the education their prospective workforce requires. In fact, employer or not – everyone’s taxes are being used. I think that gives a voice to all. (& of course we <3 u ;-) )