Article 1: A School That's Too High on Gizmos

Summary:

This article is in The Washington Post by Patrick Welsh, a teacher who has taught for more than 30 years at T. C. Williams High School in Alexandria. The high school he teaches at has been replaced by a $98 million building with ceiling-mounted LCD projectors and 126 security cameras; teachers received “school pads” to use in the classroom to control overhead projectors. “the Magna Doodle pads we had as kids. It's another way to waste money for people who are too lazy to write on the board.” (Welsh, 2008) In his article he points out the reaction of teachers of the district pushing technology at a high price, even when there are resources that have worked well in the past and in many cases is a better choice, with laptop computers not uploading programs for class, outdated technology, and failed connection to the wireless server. His message is for the district to know great teachers have completely different styles and not all need to use expensive “gizmos”.

Reaction:

The article leads the reader to believe that school districts are blindly supplying technology to students and teachers. It would not be far to believe Welsh is on target with his view of technology being pushed too hard. However these tools are here for the long run, and some people have trouble with change. Learning the process will require extra work and time, though one would believe it be economically feasible for the future. It is the job of the school districts to be cost efficient and this appears to be the case, at least it seems to be an attempt for that goal.


Welsh, P. (2008, February 10). The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 29, 2011, from The Washington Post Web site: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020803271.html