A computer is a tool. In the article, a teacher named Matthew Gudenius says he "always saw computers as a tool, not a subject." He continues by explaining that a mechanic doesn't go to a wrench lab, so why do we have computer labs? Put the computer on the students' desks and in their hands for all their academics. Bravo!
However, a mechanic does not use a wrench for everything. If he did so, he would not be utilizing all the tools in his tool box and would not be as successful completing his tasks. Can you imagine him pulling out his wrench to patch a tire or screw in a headlight? Ridiculous. Yet, in classrooms many students are expected to do just that.
With a slide show, Gudenius introduced the idea of paperless schools. "We don't care about handwriting," he says. The common core doesn't require teaching cursive and penmanship is no longer important. Sure, teach the children to read and type and how to punch numbers into a calculator. Using a brain isn't required anymore. Everything is online already anyway.
The future generation will be known not as illiterate (as long as they never need to read handwritten documents from the past), but instead will be known as illegible. If they do attempt to write something by hand, the words will slur and scribble like a kindergarten child. This isn't their fault. They were never taught to write in a digital classroom. How could they when a doodle pen is the only tool they were given?The illegible generation will instead communicate in texting code. LOL - get it? Quicker, easier, and less brain work as long as you've learned all the acronyms. Spelling isn't required.One alternative some schools are applying is for the kids to learn to identify letter groups (like aw, au, oo, etc) and sort their words into the groups. This is how they practice spelling. They don't really have to remember the spelling, just get the sorting correct. This will ensure they can write the word close enough for a spell checker to identify. Let the computer do it's job, right? Don't expend any more energy in the learning than is essential.
The Time article does explain there is some skepticism. "The Association of Pediatrics has been warning parents for years to limit screen time for their children, but now the screens were filling up the school day." The article continues, "Optometrists warn that a steep increase in blue-light exposure from screens could lead to eye problems later in life. Early studies have also shown an increase in physical ailments - sore backs, dry eyes, painful necks - among kids who are asked to work most of the day on computers ..."
Yet, the nation as a whole may not be listening. Instead of using computers as just one more tool in the toolbox to be used with prudence and care, schools are getting rid of all other tools (pencils, paper, etc) and flooding their rooms with digital devices. All the subjects are being completed online. Play a math game, listen to a history video, type in an essay. Why waste time with a pencil?
Writing by hand versus typing into a computer is important to understand. Several studies have shown that writing by hand connects to the development of the brain and increases learning significantly. Learning to write, cursive in particular, actually helps children become smarter while a computer screen with already neatly formed letter denies them this opportunity. Read more about some of these studies at what's lost as handwriting fades and at why writing can make you smarter.However, writing by hand isn't just good for the child. The baby boomer generation benefits also when taking the time to write by hand. Memory increases, cognitive skills improve, and motor skills remain sharper simply by using the writing tool instead of the computer tool. Read more about this at benefits of writing by hand.
From the website charlotte observer, this quote is found "Psychologists at Princeton and UCLA have reported that in both laboratory settings and real-world classrooms, students learn better when they take notes by hand. This does not necessarily stem from the distracting effects of computers. Rather, writing by hand allows students to process a lecture’s content and reframe it. This can lead to better understanding and memory encoding, according to the New York Times."
A computer cannot replace the tools of pencil and paper. Computers are just one tool and should be placed in the toolbox once in a while. Overuse does not mean better use.
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