December 1, 2004 - Technology's Role
As mentioned in the previous post, I'm concerned about technology's role in remediation classes. I've been hired to integrate technology into the lessons of the staff here. I must say, that after analyzing the environment for 3 months, my conclusion is that technology will not play a prominent role in the lessons that these teachers teach. Wow! What a surprise that must have been for the director to here. Why am I promoting the non-use of technology in this situation? The remediation sessions operate like this. Each staff member is assigned to 6 to 10 different non-public schools for the school year. They travel between two different schools each day. They have a laptop that must be used by students also. Additionally, they also have to move a portable printer from school to school if they need to print. The day is packed. They have 15 minutes to get their materials set up at the beginning of the day, they see students for 30 minutes sessions, and have 15 minutes to pack up their materials at mid-day before traveling to the next school. As can be imagined, the biggest complaint is that they are so rushed that they can't even pause to talk to someone or they are late for their next assignment. In any one school, they will only see a student once per week. Remediation begins in October and stops in mid-May. When all is said and done, remediatiors only really see the students approximately 24 times a year. Here's my thinking: if the students are three to four grade levels behind in reading and/or math, is it wise to place them on a computer rather than continue with direct instruction with remediators and others in the session? I don't believe that the basic math skills/drill and practice software is appropriate for students to use in place of the remediation session. I'd rather see direct instruction and iinteraction with peers than with the computer. I believe that it would be more benefical to finds ways to extend the remediation session beyond the 30 minutes by having the classroom teacher provide time for the students to use drill and practice software throughout the week in between the sessions. I can see many great uses of the computer to connect these students with each other and to use it as a tool to think with, but the wall that I keep hitting is that they are only in the session for 30 minutes once a week and I think that it would be hard to accomplish much in this time period. I have begun to implement a pilot program that will extend our services to the classroom and home in between sessions. I'm excited about it and will write more once it is in place.