"Tools For The Mind" Article Response

I found myself completely inline with Mary Burns' article, "Tools For The Mind". While I may seem slighly negative when discussing the issue of technology in a "Language Arts" classroom, the reason for this is because it seems that I've seen the same old song and dance everytime a language arts teacher brings technology in the classroom: powerpoint, wikipedia.com, and that's about it.

In today's American society, blue-collar workers are becoming more and more nonexistant. The need for students to learn about technology is greater than it has ever been, because most of our students will go on to desk jobs where they sit in front of a computer all day. I guess I've never thought there was a technology problem in American education, but I've had the luxury of going to JDHS and co-teaching at JDHS, where technology is top-notch seems widely used. Which is why it was very surprising when Burns made the statements she did about technology, or lack there of in present day education.

It makes all the sense in the world for teachers to apply Burns' "Strategy 1: Teach critical thinking first and technology later." That's one of my probelms with the way technology is used in the classroom, there's never a before lesson about how to search for useful and legitimate information on the inernet.

I guess the root of the technological issue within education is more of the teachers issue. I've said that students get enough technology at their home, but it's not always practical. Teachers need to find ways to bring technology into the classroom for practical reasons and not let the students see the internet as merely entertainment.

There does need to be more professional development, something that Burns touched on. That's the key to bringing technology in the classroom, it has to be professional and practical otherwise the message is lost.