Commentary

Back to the Chalkboard

  • by , September 12, 2010

I have a teacher who will come into the classroom and start complaining about the computer in the corner. He starts asking the front row if someone could help him turn off the gizmos. This is the same teacher was told by the university to use more technology in the classroom. His response; he started using colored sidewalk chalk on the blackboard.

You could say he is just an old man who is set in his ways, or you could say he is one of the smartest teachers on campus. In fact, only two of my seven teachers I have this semester use the computer in the classroom. Some people, especially some educators, think technology helps with the learning process. I think it actually takes away from it.

I get distracted when the teachers use technology in the classroom. I am too busy trying to read the PowerPoint and I do not actually do not pay attention what the teacher is saying. When they write on the chalkboard, it gives me time to copy the notes down and to ask questions. I comprehend the information written on chalkboard better than I do on a PowerPoint.

Is this to say that all technology and media in the classroom is a bad thing? No, but teachers have to be smart about the way they use it. I get bored with seeing the same thing I read in the book on the screen the next day in class. When this starts happening in class, I stop reading the book and just read the slides in class. If a teacher is going to use media in the classroom, they need to make sure it keeps my attention.

What does all of this have to do with media and the way I interact with it on a daily basis? The same principles apply to me in and outside of the classroom. I learn better if I am not distracted. I get bored with seeing the same thing repeatedly. My generation is a tech-savvy one, but sometimes the old school way of thinking is what we prefer. Sometimes going from the chalkboard to the computer is too big of a jump. Sometimes the best thing to do is grab some colored sidewalk chalk and add some color to something old.

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