I have long opposed using computers in classrooms. I have seen, during my many years as a teacher, watched students in school libraries using the computers there. NONE of the students were using the computers for legitimate school work. No, they were scanning webpages of high-dollar SNEAKERS (a ghetto status symbol), watching sports games, or watching music videos (with headphones). They would have a window open with the work they were supposed to be doing, if the teacher or librarian happened to walk by, so they could minimize their sneaker or video page and appear to be doing their work. So all these school districts (most of them very liberal) who think that handing out laptops to students is any sort of “improvement” over actual teaching are just naive libtards. This is the new educational model, starting with Commie Core: read a few paragraphs by yourself, then click on some radio buttons A, B, C, or D to answer a few questions about the paragraphs you supposedly read. The typical student will first read the questions, see what information they seek, and then scan the reading material only for what they think is the answer. What happens reflects the TOTAL and ABSOLUTE lack of any honing of comprehension skills. Instead of reading the reading material first and getting an idea of what the topic is about, THEN going to the questions and seeing if they recall where in the reading material they saw the answer, only looking for what they think the answer is results in absolutely no reading comprehension or idea of what it’s about. And, instead of accurately answering the question, the students just cut and paste all the stuff around a word the question uses. Let’s say the reading material is about carriers of diseases. One of the paragraphs mentions mosquitoes as vectors of yellow fever, malaria, and night blindness. Another paragraph mentions that you should empty your birdbath regularly to prevent mosquitoes from breeding there. The question asks “What diseases are carried by mosquitoes?” And the students will cut and paste the entire paragraph about emptying the birdbath, because it contains the word “mosquito”. They will totally not learn anything about the diseases mosquitoes carry. That is what happens I’d say 90% of the time with computer “learning”. A live teacher can ask random students that question and they can’t fake it by reciting the whole paragraph about birdbaths, and so she knows they are not getting it or they are playing with their cellphones instead of listening. There is absolutely NO motivation these days for students to pay the slightest attention to lessons, be they Zoom or live, because they know that statistics-hungry administrators will come down hard on those teachers who grade honestly and fail those who actually deserve to fail. Thus, most teachers now aim to keep their jobs and the heat off their backs and pass virtually every student, even those who only sporadically attend class. MORE FRAUD. Is it any surprise election fraud and dishonesty of every sort has become so firmly entrenched as a means of getting what you want in our country instead of working for it? Students know they will graduate without doing a fraction of the required work, so why do the work? That’s for suckers.
As I sit here watching my students “work” on GoGuardian (a program that lets teachers see what students are doing on their screens), I am lamenting the truth of your observation. I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of the situation and have a difficult time getting over 25% of my kids to legitimately pass the class.
The pressure to pass kids who are wholly unworthy is palpable, given that administration seeks to buoy its “numbers” so as to make the public believe that the program employed is effective. It is all a racket, and I mourn over how many of my students are damn near unreachable when it comes to imparting the ability to critically think or use reason and logic to come to an understanding of the subject.
I retired from teaching junior high history 8 1/2 years ago. I’ve continued subbing so I do have an idea of what’s going on. Of course I am ‘old school’. While I love computers myself and wonder how we got along without them, they are very much, in my opinion in schools.
Although the science teacher can pull up an instant lesson on say volcanos, even with a good video, the kids’ eyes glaze over. Watching TV is passive. Learning from a TV or Smartboard or computer is passive as well. And it’s not as if kids suffer from not enough screen time.
Back in the 80s was an ‘educational’ game called Oregon Trail. It really did a good job of giving an idea of traveling the trial. You had to pick the right time, too early no browse for your animals, too late you’ll get caught in winter. You had to pick the right animals to haul your wagon, oxen, slow but powerful and hard to steal, or horses twice as fast, but liable to theft by Indians. That sort of thing. So how did the kids ‘play’ the game” They made it 20 miles out onto the prairie and did nothing but shoot buffalo.
So when I sub, I usually turn off the Smartboard and actually try to teach the lesson and get the kids to react to ideas. Half are inpatient and want me to shut up and give the assignment so they can mindlessly write down answers, but the other half seem to appreciate actually thinking.