I'm frustrated with the way African American students are learning technology. Not because they aren't learning any but because they are not getting the high-end type.
Most of the schools I have taught at don't seem to really know and understand what technology is all about and what students should and could be learning. This is not because they are ignorant or unintelligent, but because for technology you really have to be in it to understand it and as a teacher who has been teaching for many years, I feel I have gotten a grasp of what the needs are for students regarding this genre.
Our students seem to still be on the computer applications level and within in that they are still just learning how to use Microsoft Word effectively. Most students know how to change the font, add a picture, etc. but those lower level skills are not the types of things that businesses and infrastructures need. In fact, students can teach themselves these skills. What students need is to know skills that can be utilized now, in a college setting and in a career. The use of Microsoft Word has not and cannot be exhausted. Along with this students should be able to know what skill to use in Microsoft Word and when. After Microsoft Office Products, students should learn applications that require them to use their higher order thinking skills, that forces them to reconstruct knowledge, add to existing knowledge and or create something new from what has been previously done. These types of programs consist of webdesign, graphic design, video and photo software, music and audio creation, etc.
Because of the cost of these products and the cost to put such an infrastructure into the schools along with the state mandating the basics of reading, writing and rithmetic, this leaves little opportunity and space to add these types of adventurouse technologies to the curriculum.
Even the aforementioned technologies and software are "old hat," but they are still programs that are in popular use today and can create and teach skills that are marketable and will jump start careers.
As a teacher, I vow to try to add a little more creativity to my agenda, even without being able to offer all the exotic and expensive software.
Most of the schools I have taught at don't seem to really know and understand what technology is all about and what students should and could be learning. This is not because they are ignorant or unintelligent, but because for technology you really have to be in it to understand it and as a teacher who has been teaching for many years, I feel I have gotten a grasp of what the needs are for students regarding this genre.
Our students seem to still be on the computer applications level and within in that they are still just learning how to use Microsoft Word effectively. Most students know how to change the font, add a picture, etc. but those lower level skills are not the types of things that businesses and infrastructures need. In fact, students can teach themselves these skills. What students need is to know skills that can be utilized now, in a college setting and in a career. The use of Microsoft Word has not and cannot be exhausted. Along with this students should be able to know what skill to use in Microsoft Word and when. After Microsoft Office Products, students should learn applications that require them to use their higher order thinking skills, that forces them to reconstruct knowledge, add to existing knowledge and or create something new from what has been previously done. These types of programs consist of webdesign, graphic design, video and photo software, music and audio creation, etc.
Because of the cost of these products and the cost to put such an infrastructure into the schools along with the state mandating the basics of reading, writing and rithmetic, this leaves little opportunity and space to add these types of adventurouse technologies to the curriculum.
Even the aforementioned technologies and software are "old hat," but they are still programs that are in popular use today and can create and teach skills that are marketable and will jump start careers.
As a teacher, I vow to try to add a little more creativity to my agenda, even without being able to offer all the exotic and expensive software.
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