Repetitive Technology Syndrome

This entry first appeared in my Byte Speed blog on January 2, 2007:

http://web.mac.com/timholt/iWeb/Byte%20Speed/Tim%27s%20Blog/B12E195D-7014-447A-988C-12E9EBECBAB8.html

"In fact, one of the saddest but most common conditions in elementary school computer labs (when they exist in the developing world), is the children are being trained to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint," Negroponte wrote in an e-mail interview. "I consider that criminal, because children should be making things, communicating, exploring, sharing, not running office automation tools."

Nicolas Negroponte is a maverick in the technology world, and has caused quite a stir with his $100 laptop initiative. This quote made me think about what we teach our kids to do, and how we teach them.
The ISTE and state standards are very clear: we do NOT want to be teaching our kids programs, or even operating systems. What we need to be doing os teaching our kids how to USE programs, and hardware to create.

But what are our kids creating? Are they actually creating content that can be shared, saved and manipulated, or are we simply transferring that we did mechanically in the past to something we now do digitally?

Consider the classic report. In the past, teachers asked students to do some research (go to the library and check out books) and then WRITE everything they learned in a five page summary. Now, for the report, students do the research (go to the internet) and TYPE everything they learned in a five page summary. So what has changed in the transition years from mechanical to digital? I don’t think much has changed. Same product, except we have changed pencil lead for printer toner.

We have really have created a Repetitive Technology Syndrome, because our students are asked to do this every year, in every class that has the technology, year after year. So instead of writing, we are asking them to type. Big jump. Welcome to technology.

So what else are we asking our kids to do with all this technology out there in the school? We have them collect data on a spreadsheet, which isn’t too different than collecting data on data tables in the days of old. We then ask them to create some graphs. Programs like Excel actually make this easier for kids, and what happens then is that kids make too many graphs and misunderstand the correct graph for the occasion.

We have switched the old 16 mm projectors with the digital version, United Streaming, or something like it. But what are we asking the students to do with this information that we didn’t ask them to do with the old 16 mm films and filmstrips?

Go to the net, look something up, tell me what you learned. Repetitive Technology Syndrome.

What should be happening, just like Negroponte said and ISTE and state standards mandate, is that kids should be taking that information, taking those programs and hardware, and creating content not just becoming human ditto machines. So I know Word, can I take the data tables that I created in Excel, and create an interactive chart that links my findings to the results of the rest of the school? Instead of a written report, can’t I create a podcast, even maybe a video podcast, that can be posted online, and I can then ask for feedback from my teachers and other students? Can I create a living project that anyone can add to in a wiki?

Of course all of these things are possible, but what is actually happening is that a small percent of teachers are actually doing this. There are many legitimate reasons why they are not, but I believe that if teachers can ask students to create repetitive technology tasks, they can also ask them to create, explore and share their content.

What do you think? Are your kids victims of Repetitive Technology Syndrome?