Article Critique #2
Emily C. Moser
SLM 521
April 2004
Bushweller,
Kevin. (2000). Lessons
from the Analog World. Electronic School, September. Retrieved
(8 pages).
This article
presented some very thoughtful and reflective reasons to appreciate ‘habits of
mind’ that need to be developed without the use of the computer. The author, who is an editor for the technology
journal cited, recognized the need to achieve a middle ground between
technology and commonsensical lessons to last a lifetime. He quotes a teacher who shows the
philosophical difference saying, “My role is not to go and meet kids in their
world and hang out there…My role is to drag them into my world.”
He then
continues by showing that faster is not always better and some skills need to
be developed slowly, like
reading. And, while some experiments
(like nuclear chain reactions (!)) are best left for the computer, real world
and hands-on learning, enhanced by
computers, really promote real thinking.
So, too, PowerPoint presentations are good for students, but style
should not overshadow substance. Similarly, student-centered learning should
be balanced with a thoughtfully presented lecture, (teacher directed) which can guide and provoke good questions. There
is a need for both non-linear and linear
thinking like synthesizing information into a coherent paper. This is often hard work because learning is not always fun. The ‘zone of proximal development’ where most
learning takes place, is a discomfort zone.
Finally,
the author concludes with the most fundamental point, that human contact matters.
Students learn vital people and self-control lessons in the classroom
and teachers can gauge much by reading body language and facial
expressions. Learning is certainly
interactive—between teachers, students, and wise use of technology.