Google and 2 Cha Cha
This generation of students has grown up with google and cell phones and has had the availability of information literally at their fingertips. For teachers, this can be a source of conflict as you have to monitor students very closely to ensure they aren’t cheating (using cell phones during tests or class) or just goofing around my texting their friends in another class.  Other teachers in the lounge gasped when I mentioned I had allowed my students to use their cell phones to take photos during the frog dissection.  Though, I tend to view technology a bit different from my peers in the teaching profession. I imagine how math teachers felt years ago when the calculator first became accessible to the average student, they were probably worried that the calculator would result in students who rely on the technology without understanding the basics of math.  Perhaps they were even right to be fearful, just yesterday I handed back a quiz to a student who got a 45/50 and wanted to know his percentage, without a thought he whips out his calculator to find the answer.
Google and cell phones and other new technologies can inspire the same sorts of fear in teachers. Will students rely too much on technology? Will they stop learning in favor of just getting the quick answer off google? These are valid questions that I do not have the answer to, but my love of technology lends itself well to this new age we find ourselves in. I think it is absolutely wonderful that we have information so easily available and I have my own classroom designed around that technology. Five years ago, I applied for a grant that allowed me to place two student computers in my classroom.  Many teachers scoffed at the notion – what on earth can you do with only two computers???
I use these almost every day in my class. Two students are assigned to sit next to these computers, and these students are given the title: Googlers.  It is their job to answer any question that comes up in the class that I cannot answer, and believe me in a science class there are plenty of those kinds of questions. (How fast does a cheetah run? What is the temperature in the Antarctic? Who invented velcro?….)  Just the other day, we were talking about the parts of the throat, such as the tonsils and a student asked where the “adenoids” were because she’d had hers removed as a baby. I didn’t have the answer…but we were quick to find the answer by doing a google search.
I’ve also noted that while kids have grown up with technology, they don’t often realize its potential. My study hall kids came in and asked me if I knew the capitol of Hungary…which I did not know. (Apparently, a teacher in another class had assigned them that question.)  When I said I didn’t know, they looked all dejected and hopeless. I glanced at the two computers in the room and said “If only there were some way to find out..”  Finally I saw the little light bulb go and the boy ran over to look up the answer. I was amazed that he hadn’t thought of it before I prompted him.
There are also many cell phone services that can be used to find answers to questions – such as 1 800 2 CHA CHA.  Ever have an argument with someone and need to settle the answer quickly, use that number. It’s amazing!   I suppose there is a danger of becoming too reliant upon technology, but I personally am not too worried about it.   Like calculators and the abacus, google is just another tool that can be used (or abused) in a classroom. As an educator, my job is to direct students toward the positive applications and demonstrate how technology can be used to make all of our lives easier.
April 11, 2010
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smuskopf · 
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Posted in: Best Practices
