Make the turtle draw (Part 2)

Yesterday I rambled on about how the use of computers in the classroom has changed in the last few decades. A paper published in 1971 described twenty ways that computers could be involved in the classroom, and pretty much all of them focused on students learning about computer programming. Today computers used in the classroom are designed as tools to aid education, not as something to be studied. Although I would have to do the research to find out for sure, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there is a greater market for computer programmers and computer scientists today than there was back in the 1970's. If this is the case, why do we not teach computer programming at the primary school level anymore? Honestly, I don't have a good answer. Perhaps it is because programming has become advanced enough that educators do not feel that school children would be able to understand the basics (though, given how often I hear my students talk about changing they myspace page around, I think they could grasp basic computer programming). Anyone else have any thoughts on this issue?

The other question my post yesterday brought to my mind is one of potential. Do we currently use computer to their educational potential? Many of the people I work with seem to think that we do. I have been to countless meetings extolling the wonderful things we are doing with computers these days. We use the internet for student research. We use computers and LCD projectors to show streaming instructional videos. We use computers to take and grade tests. I am struck by the fact, however, that none of these things really change what teachers have been doing, just how efficiently they are doing it. Students can go to the library and look up information in books, just as they can look it up on-line. Students can watch videos on a television just like they can on-line. Students can take tests on paper and get some slightly delayed feedback just like they can take tests on-line and get immediate feedback. For that matter, students can type papers on Word just like they can write them out by hand. In other words, a majority of the ways I see teachers using computers in the classroom are designed to make the same old techniques and devices faster and more efficient.

I think the future of computers in the classroom lies in the areas that make computers unique. I am not a computer scientist or even a computer hobbyist, so I don't pretend to fully understand all of the possibilities. However, one example of computers starting to be put to good use is that of simulations. Last week I used a simple on-line simulation of water pollution. Students could control the input of pollution into a stream, as well as the distance from the source and examine what was (and was not) able to survive. There are also quality simulations for evolution, disease growth and transmission, geologic history and other topics out there. Students can see a dynamic side of the topics they are currently studying out of textbooks.

Another possible use of computers in the classroom is to create an interactive community. I have seen this used more and more at the college level, but it seems to be gaining favor slowly at the lower levels. Through message boards, blogs, or similar sites, students and teachers can dialog with each other and outsiders about many different topics (both academic and otherwise). I do understand that many people are hesitant to involve children in on-line conversations given the safety issues involved, though there are those working to create safe places for students to engage in active dialogs (Gaggle.net is a good example).

What other ways can we expand the uses for computers in the classroom? I look forward to finding out.