"Turning On the Lights"

In response to "Turning On the Lights" by Marc Prensky
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/mar08/vol65/num06/Turning_On_the_Lights.aspx

In this article, Prensky argues that schools do not take advantage of technology to educate students. Instead, schools and teachers feel technology is a threat to learning. I agree with some of his reasoning but also disagree with some.

I think technology should be more incorporated into the curriculum than it currently is, but I do not think that other required subjects should be dismissed. For example, history is still important for students to learn because it educates them on the past and can be important to know for the future. After all, "History repeats itself." Math is equally important. When I was in school, my perception of math was, "Why do I have to learn this stuff? I will never use it!" I can easily say that I was not a fan of math. However, I have to admit that I have used the math I learned in school. Whether it is quickly estimating my bill at the grocery store, figuring out the price of a sale item at a department store, or deciding if a couch will fit into my apartment, basic algebra and geometry are useful. That is not to say that teaching kids math about space is not a good idea, but they need a balance. Also, algebra and geometry are an important foundation for higher levels of math.

Over all, I think Prensky has some great ideas about how technology could be effectively incorporated into the classroom. For example, I think connecting a Spanish class with kids from South America is a great idea. (How a teacher would organize and implement this is another issue.) However, I think some of Prensky's ideas are a bit extreme. From my perspective, he represents one extreme which is not any more correct than the extreme that argues that technology should have a very minimal role in the classroom. As is usually the case, the most effective scenario lies in the middle where balance is the goal.