Impressions of “When Gadgets Get in the Way”

One of the articles that we received in our Current Trends and Issues class was titled: When Gadgets Get in the Way written by Lisa Guernsey for The New York Times  on Thursday, August 19, 2004.

When I started reading the article I thought it wouldn’t be too relevant since it was about three years old, but it is relevant in today’s classrooms!  The discussion is about how to fight for students’ attention in a world of cellphones, computers, and instant messaging.  The article takes a brief look at what five educators are (or were) doing to “fight fire with fire”. 

The emphasis of the article is that a good way to capture and keep students’ attention is to use technology, but to keep an eye on them so that they do not get distracted by their cellphones, or other electronic toys.  One of the teachers that was discussed uses games to keep students on task and learn various concepts.  Another teacher uses older technology (filmstrips) and whiteboards to keep student’s attentive as most students in today’s classrooms have not had the opportunity to view filmstrips.  Another teacher believes that by using round tables in his physics classroom each table equipt with three wireless laptops, he can roam around and make sure that students are working on the tasks at hand.  Another teacher uses a software program in her computer lab that allows her to simultaneously monitor all computers and forther allows her control of the student’s computers as she sees necessary.  She can use a pen to write messages on the student’s screens that directs students to get back to work or she can interupt classes by freezing all of the students computers at once so that she can explain a concept to the whole class.

I found it interesting that although technology allows teachers to use innovative ways to present information and even monitor on-task and off-task behavior, it can not guarantee that all students are engaged.  In each of the cases discussed, the teachers mention that they need to be vigilant in getting the students to stay on task and refocus off-task behaviors.  The difference between years ago and today is that the ways that students choose to be distracted in classrooms today often involve technological gadgets and programs such as cell phones, email, games and instant messaging.

So, this is a picture that my son put on my desktop. He surprises me with different pictures every so often.

Initial Posting

Here is a blog for my the IT Trends and Issues class.