History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
What the iPad (and other technology) can’t replace in education
- 09-12-2011
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Guest blog by Karim Kai Ani/Washington Post
A recent article in The New York Times explains how after investing $33 million in technology, a school district in Arizona has seen almost no improvement in test scores. Duh. It’s no surprise that we as a society have a kind of blind faith that technology is able to solve all of our problems. Yet while the iPad can and should replace textbooks, it can’t replace common sense. Unfortunately that’s exactly what’s happening in education reform. We’re focused so much on the device that we’re ignoring what’s on it. Take math. Students dislike it and perform badly in it. Each year they ask, “What does this mean?” and “When will I use this?” And what’s our answer? A new platform. This is like reading a novel, hating it, and concluding it would be better on the Kindle. (more...)
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