I use technology in the classroom (pre-calc and calc classes); in my case,
graphing calculators. I believe in them. I would not want to go back to
teaching without them. I think I am better able to teach the students and
increase their understanding of mathematical concepts since I have started
using GC's.
However (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) I am concerned about the
potential for mis-use of technology. I am seeing more and more students
come into my classes having already used GC's. Many are well prepared. But
many, and it seems like more and more, have the attitude that they don't
have to learn anything, "My calculator will do that for me."
Please allow me a couple of anecdotal stories to explain. One student got a
wrong answer in a pre-calc class when asked to solve a quadratic equation.
She showed no work on her paper. When I asked her how she got it, she -
after a few minutes of hemming - showed me a program that she had. You
input A, B, and C and the answer popped up. The problem was, the program is
incorrect. It cannot handle complex numbers. (I know you can write
programs that do, but this one didn't.) When I tried to explain to her,
algebraically and graphically, why her answer was wrong, she kept insisting
that it couldn't be because that was the answer her calculator gave her and
it had to be right.
Another student didn't understand the heirarchy of operations and so could
not convert negative temperatures correctly. (Converting -40 degrees
Celcius to Rankin gave him a negative answer.) When I tried to explain that
his answer was completely unreasonable, his response was, "It may seem
unreasonable to you. But it has to be right. I did it on my calculator."
Does anybody else out there see students who are using the calculator (or
computer) as a replacement for a brain? Does anyone else see teachers that
are saying, "You don't have to understand this problem. Just run this
program and it will give you the right answer." (Honest, I heard that from
a teacher, talking to a student.)
Please don't misunderstand. I am NOT opposed to technology in the
classroom. I am strongly in favor of it. I use it.
I am concerned about the mis-use of technology having the effect of "dumbing
down" the curriculum. I am hearing some of begin to say it is a mistake to
allow technology in the classroom, as they see the results of students who
have been taught as those mentioned above. I am convinced that the mis-use
of technology will have that exact effect.
My question is, does anyone else have the same concerns? If so, what can we
do about it?
Bret Taylor Lake-Sumter Community College Leesburg FL
"It matters not the subject taught, nor all the books on all the shelves.
What matters more, yes most of all, is what the teachers are themselves."
John Wooden
John 3: 3^3 + 3
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