Cheryl Booker

SLM 521

Fall 2003

Article #2

This particular article admonishes teachers to just say “No”, to technology that doesn’t work. The author has an extensive background in the technology field and has even written a book on technology coordination. He feels that there is a gulf between those who design and deliver the curriculum and those who actually do the testing. The author feels that a unification of the tool side and the human story-telling side must be improved. One reason, that may have initiated this gap between the two groups could have been the frustration teachers encountered when they could not perform a simple print command. Not because there wasn’t any ink or paper, in the printer, but because the computers are networked together and if there is a problem with one of them it spreads like a wildfire causing them all to malfunction. He’s also critical of our society’s fascination with getting the “newest and hottest” that technology offers. This, in his estimation is counter-productive when the current hardware operates just fine. Of course, new hardware requires new software, so the current software also becomes obsolete. This simply creates more frustration for the educators and many of them simply push the technology aspect of their teaching aside until it could work not only for them, but in unison with them. Finally, the never ending war between a Mac platform and a PC based platform must be considered. If one platform wasn’t performing up to task, switching to the other platform was the obvious answer, right? Not exactly, proponents of both platforms have their likes and dislikes, so the battle rages on. Ultimately, the goal is to have the technology that works in place, that best allows teachers to create and facilitate a dynamic and powerful learning experience.

I feel that the more communication and exchanging of ideas and concepts in the beginning stages of development are shared, the better for everyone involved. My opinion is that technology definitely has its place in the classroom, when it performs to meet the needs of the teacher and gives them the confidence to be a reliable medium to expand the minds and learning potential of their number one priority, the students.

Serim,Ferdi. "Just Say No! to Technolgy That Doesn't Work." MultiMedia Schools March/April. 2002. 9 November. 2003 <http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/mar02/dcon0302.htm>.