Low-Tech

I can remember in 6th grade learning how to use an Apple II computer.  I even vaguely remember using Logo to program the computer and create simple games.  It seems ever since then the use of technology in classrooms has been widely discussed and widely promoted as a necessary and critical component of a child's education.  Up until a few months ago I would have agreed.  I would have argued that teachers need to use technology to enhance student learning, increase student engagement, and allow children to become generally comfortable using technology.  However, over the past several months I have changed my thinking.  I now believe through the third grade children should not use any technology and in 4th and 5th grade the only appropriate use for technology is keyboarding.

My thinking has changed as I have thought about my own countless attempts to use technology, about how I currently use technology, and what I truly believe is best for the kids.  First, my own attempts to use technology.  In my years teaching I have had my students create power point presentations, type their stories, poetry and other writing, do research, and even use logo to solve coordinate grid problems.  Amazingly, in all my years teaching I think the only effective use of technology was when the students used Logo - basically the same program I used 25 years ago.  The students programed the turtle to draw various shapes on a coordinate grid.  This required problem solving and reinforced mathematical concepts.  Good stuff.  But creating power points, typing writing, and doing research online are all activities that I believe detract rather than add to student learning.  For example, when the students create Power Points they spend more time playing with different back grounds and slide transitions than thinking about the content of their presentations.  If you want to the students to truly synthesize information they have learned by presenting to the class I believe there are better and more authentic ways than Power Point.  Perhaps the students could write a skit and act it out, use art supplies to create a poster, create a board game or recreate a quiz show.  All of these require creativity, allow the students to synthesize information, and have opportunities for collaboration.  They also are all more hands-on, tangible, and, I suppose, real.  That is, they not some digitized abstract thing created while staring at a screen.

Which leads me to my next point: screen time.  The students in my classroom spend way too much time as it is staring at screens.  They play video games and watch TV or movies until late in the night (one student tells me he regularly stays up until midnight playing video games or watching TV).  The last thing they need is MORE screen time at school.  Moreover, with the prevalence of games systems, smartphones, and computers, the students are getting plenty of exposure to technology outside of school.
I think of my students' life outside school and, maybe unfairly but based on ample anecdotal evidence, I imagine a rather chaotic life.  I imagine violent video games, PG and R movies, shopping malls, processed food, candy, sugar, loud television, no routines, and minimal discipline.  I imagine noise.  And I think part of my job is to provide those students a reprieve from the chaos.  A quiet and safe place, with routines, expectations, and, I think most importantly, books.

While I remember my own experiences using an Apple II fondly, my best memories from school are reading books.  In my mind there is nothing more simple and elegant and peaceful than a 10 year old reading a book.