SLM 521 Neil Fisher

Article Critique #2 Resubmit 9/29/03

Tiene, Drew and Luft, Pamela. (2002, August) The Technology-Rich Classroom. American School Board Journal, 189, 8. Retrieved May 30, 2003, from http://www.asbj.com/2002/08/0802technologyfocus.html.

This journal article concerned the author’s month long observation of four middle school classes in Ohio using the Ameritech Electronic University School Classroom, a high-tech facility where a teacher and his/her students could work with the latest technology. This facility was equipped with 12 Windows-based networked computers with Internet access, a printer, a scanner, four video conferencing cameras, five-digital cameras, two camcorders, a videocassette recorder, and a station for the teacher with a computer, a VCR, and video document camera connected to a video projector pointed towards a screen. The software used consisted of Microsoft Office and Netscape. A technological expert was on hand for assistance. After using this setup for a month and interviewing the teachers, the authors found out the following things. The teachers said that they and their students began to feel more comfortable with using technology to advance the learning process and teachers found that often the students and themselves learned together as opposed to the teacher “teaching” the students all the time. The teachers said that often students worked in pairs or in groups of three so having a computer for every single student wasn’t necessary. The most useful of the systems available were listed as the word processor, the printer, the digital camera, the Internet access, and video projector. The authors concluded that the Ameritech Classroom should be a model for the “technology-rich” classroom of the future.

This article was very descriptive in its listing of all the components used in this facility, but I thought that the authors should have given more concrete examples of how the equipment was used in presenting types of material. For example, what was the Internet browser used to research? They also failed to mention what subjects the teachers and students were dealing with in this facility. I would have liked to know if they found using this facility made teaching some subjects easier than, say, in a “traditional” classroom setting. I thought that the equipment provided for this classroom was impressive in its scope and could definitely see advantages in using the computers to teach the students more effectively, especially with showing the students how to use the Internet for research purposes. I also liked the idea of having a video projector and screen in the classroom. It would be a lot easier than using overheads all the time. However, I believe, to export this classroom set-up to the majority of public schools would be a little cost prohibitive for many schools, not to mention finding enough qualified people to operate them. Though, hopefully, in the future, more and more schools will be able to use some of these technological aides. I just don’t see everything listed in the Ameritech Classroom entering schools all at the same time due to the cost, so that may create another inequity within our public school system between richer and poorer schools.