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Meaghan
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The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 25, 2009 - 03:14 PM
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Do you believe that the necessity for technology in classrooms would disadvantage schools of inferior economic status and further widen the student achievement gap?
What can students, teachers, and governments do to ensure that the inclusion of technology does not disadvantage lower decile schools?
Have you witnessed such incentives in your local community?
I look forward to see how this forum can be viewed in a social, political, and economic context!
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Liza Bolton
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 25, 2009 - 05:26 PM
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Excellent thread idea! I think my answer would be mostly what I said in the Digital Divide thread though.
I like the "Think Globally, Act Locally" concept, and it can be applied here by developing ways of using technology in our own communities that could possibly be applied elsewhere, especially in more disadvantaged areas.
lizab wrote:
It appears to me that wealth, on a personal, local or national level is one of the key factors creating this divide. It also seems that because ICT is such an effective way of gaining and communicating information (the world at your fingertips) that a digital divide leads to a “knowledge divide”. And sadly this is probably a cycle. You need knowledge and skills, to be employed and earn money, and money is required to purchase the digital devices that can be amazing tools for gaining knowledge and skills. Less knowledge, less money, less computers, less knowledge, and so forth.
There are ways of breaking this cycle, such as Computers4Africa [1] on an international level, but the sharing of resources between communities and education systems would be another way of locally maximising access to skills and knowledge.
Kartini Kwan wrote in a post [2] about the disappointing disparities between education certificates in developing and developed countries. I think a digital divide would be both a cause and an effect of this.
Economic ability is not the only component. Age can also be a big factor in where the divide lies. When this is the case, I think partnerships between schools and communities could once again make a positive difference. Teaching helps you learn and develop maturity, so I think it would be beneficial for a sort of youth-elder buddy system to be tried, where in one-to-one learning contexts the digital divide across age groups could be bridged.
[1] Computers4Africa
[2] "The future of Education" post
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erqwetyerwh
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 25, 2009 - 05:41 PM
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The school maybe well financed or not, I do not see any hindrances as to how it would affect negatively or else widen the gap between schools.
For instance, in our school, which is a State College, financed by the govenrment whereing neighboring private schools are well-financed, we were able to deliberately deliver the quality of education offered by other schools.
As long as the school officials does thier job correctly and be able to find a way to help improved the use of technology, I can see no problem into it.
It always comes to the determination!!
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Meaghan
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 25, 2009 - 08:32 PM
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Good point Ronnel. I am curious about the education system in the Philippines and the differences/similarities between our countries.
Are there gaps in the achievement level of your state schools? For example, the town that I live in, Auckland, has considerable gaps and it's frustrating to see that the suburb you reside in can determine the quality of education you receive.
In terms of technology, every teacher has their own laptop and projector at my current school, and at a neighbouring school every student is required to have a laptop. When I lived in West Auckland, a laptop was considered a luxury and trifle!
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franmarie
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 26, 2009 - 10:05 AM
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Hi there Meaghan! I'm from Philippines too!
There are actually gaps as well in our educational system especially in tertiary levels. We have different types of colleges or universities here. I'm from a well-known private univesity in our country. Technology is just a common tool in our day-to-day school activities, but as you said, in other universities or colleges like in your country, it is already a luxury.
Aside from physical aspects or facilities, there are big difference when it comes to job opportunities. Most employers here tend to hire those who are from well-known and respected institutions because they believe that excellent quality of education is being practiced. But this does not mean that other colleges are incompetent. There are state colleges that are also very competitive. Its just that the norms have already set the standard, the usual.
I hope this kind of perspective in my country should be eliminated to provide equal opportunities for all.
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Johanna Lei Bandoy
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 26, 2009 - 10:46 AM
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I do agree. It really create gaps between students. In our school, we are really lucky to have modern school materials. When we visited our neighboring school in our city, students were somehow behind the latest information due to lack of modern technology in their school.
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Jessie James L. Marcellones
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 26, 2009 - 10:58 PM
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Yes, there is really an issue of luxury when we talk of promoting technology. Setting aside the issue, it can create a better avenue for learning than luxury.
Any remark or comment with my statement?
Thanks.
regards,
Jessie James
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Zay
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 27, 2009 - 04:04 AM
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A study found that there is a link between users of Facebook, the social network site, and the lower grades of college students. I consider this to be a social consequence of technology.
I think when we are presented with technology, especially something that is new, we spend a lot of time familiarising ourselves with it, seeing what it can do... but then we don't concentrate on other things, like studying for our education.
How does sites like Facebook come into 'promoting technology in education'?
I, along with most of my classmates, started to use the computer and internet more and more due to what I was doing at school. And because we spent more and more time on the internet, we started using social networks like Facebook and Bebo.
Having internet access at school has gotten students on to these social networking sites during school hours instead of doing the work they should be concentrating on. And for those who don't go on the social network sites, some go on gaming sites.
We have to remember that technology can sometimes become a distraction, even if their intended purpose is to help improve education.
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Jessie James L. Marcellones
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 27, 2009 - 04:07 AM
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Thanks for sharing that. On my part, using technology makes my grades high.
regards,
Jessie James
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Kam
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 27, 2009 - 04:10 AM
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it's true that technology is a distraction but i think it just replaces what were the distractions before technology. before now, there were sports and fighting and shopping. I don't think it's any worse than those though i agree than it is a distraction
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Kam
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 27, 2009 - 04:13 AM
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it's like that in my country too. many of the technology is invested on only to create an "image" for the university. oh we have high tech facilities or whatever but how much the students get to use those facilities is questionable
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Jessie James L. Marcellones
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 27, 2009 - 04:16 AM
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Thanks for your ideas, mates. However, let's look at the good sides of technology. I myself would really say that technology today help me a lot, to my education, financial status, etc.
best regards,
Jessie James
This post was edited on: 2009-04-27 at 04:18 AM by: marcellones
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franmarie
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 27, 2009 - 08:56 AM
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In my opinion, Technology becomes a distraction and eventually a social conseuence if used incorrectly and with wrong intention, and is not used for what beneficial purpose it may serve.
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Jessie James L. Marcellones
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 27, 2009 - 09:01 AM
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Great point. regards, Jessie James
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Sagar Saxena
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Re: The social consequence of promoting technology in education
April 27, 2009 - 10:22 AM
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It's really great of you guys to bring out this aspect of using technology. i strongly feel that, if the privileged get even more privileges, and deprived get just the same, the gap will undoubtedly increase.
However, this issue also spirals around who is implementing the technology, how is it being used, and if it is really helping or not. Very few percentage of institutes who claim to be technologically advanced in terms of using modern equipments for providing education, actually prove to be successfull in doing so.
So what is my point ? Even if a school is financially well off, and has the most modern gadgets, one cannot surely say that students are learning something from that.
I think that through these discussions we are hoping to achieve a way where we can ensure that students really get to learn something , thus incorporating the role of the teacher herein.
I think the point raised in this thread must be kept in mind while shaping future discussions.
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