Can computers help students learn better?
Ever since the fashion of computer-assisted instruction emerged in the late 1970’s, people viewed computers as a potential tool to change education, and some even imagined that someday teachers will be replaced by computers. There were all sorts of computer software and resources, dedicated for just that purpose. Schools spent huge budgets on technological tools and resources as well as teacher training. Over the years, the passion of computers had changed and the use of computers in education dwindled. Computer literacy is being considered as an easy essential component for everyone. Few people will bother learning about basic computer skills. So suddenly the talk about computer applications in education disappeared.
Are we better off today in terms of using computers for our jobs? Not really. I found more and more people lacking basic computer skills to become productive. Most people would spend more time for online surfing, chatting, browsing videos, talking in Facebook or twittering. They don’t have good knowledge of skills about using computer tools or resources wisely to solve problems or to improve their lives. Maybe it’s because most people believe that the technology has become so easy and intuitive for us, and we don’t need to use our brain to think and deal with any kind of hassles or challenges.
I love computer technology, old and new. I still would rely on the logical operations in programming or in Excel spreadsheet to solve some problems. When I plan a speech, I enjoy using the Inspiration program to create and organize my thoughts in diagram view.
It was a few years ago that I witnessed how computers came to a rescue to help a couple of young students catching up. During that time I supervised a couple student teachers doing internship practicum in a first grade classroom in an urban school. The home room teacher was an experienced veteran teacher. She was enthusiastic about helping all of her students. However, it was a daunting task for the teacher to deal with over 20 students in the class, and many of them were underprivileged and ill prepared for the first grade. Some of the students even struggled with the learning of basic alphabets while the teacher was trying to push for the basic phonics and to get students to be able to read words out loud from picture books and to write simple sentences at the end of the year. Certainly the student teachers were greatly appreciated.
The teacher asked the intern student teachers to help with the slower students, especially two boys, sitting at the corner. The problem with the boys was easily detected – they could not follow the instructions and make sense of what they were learning. You can teach them how to say some words in the morning and they will forget everything in the afternoon. You’ll have to teach them again and again the next days. They made little progress. Unfortunately, when they went home, they received no help from their family. Both the teacher and students were frustrated.
The student teachers and I discussed about the issues, and formed a plan to deal with the situation – we decided to give it a try using computers. There were four old Mac computers sitting in the back wall, barely being used. We check the conditions of the computer and found they all worked and they were equipped with sound device and Microsoft Office applications. We decided to train those two boys to use computers and take charge of their own learning. They quickly leaned how to turn on and off the computer, as well as how to launch applications. They used a built-in application named “Simpletext”, which allow them to highlight text and have the computer speak the selection. In this way, they started picking up words and learned how to pronounce new words they encountered by themselves. Teachers’ time was freed up to help other students. These two boys enjoyed their learning tasks. Other students also became interested to follow. Eventually all students made significant progress about the basic phonics and reading.
We decided to make a big leap for writing. We wanted all students to be able to write something meaningful about themselves, and maybe they could present what they have written in a culminating activity during the parent-teacher conference at the end of the semester. The first graders were very excited about this idea. They were eager to dive in this initiative. The student teachers piloted the idea with the Power Point application, where they can easily record their own narrations along with text and pictures in each slide. They showed the prototype to the first graders. They told the class that they were going to build a class album, with everybody’s picture, passages, and individual reading of their paragraphs. The remainder was a history. They got the best finished product at the end. All students participated in the project and they all worked very hard to complete the tasks. The teacher told me it was the best result she ever experienced in her teaching career. She couldn’t imagine how powerful computers can become such an engaging tool to help students master their learning and succeed. Parents were tremendously impressed and commended the teacher for doing such a wonderful job.
Until today, I still think that computers have great potential to help students learn better. It’s up to teachers to decide what to do and how to do it.
