New technologies

According to a data published by the International Telecommunication Union (UIT) on May 25^th, only half of the Brazilian schools have internet connection. This number is inferior to the numbers of the rich countries and even inferior to some countries less developed than Brazil.

Up to which point is this harmful to the students? Internet, if used as a teaching tool, can bring enormous gains. If the school is able to teach the students the best way to explore new technologies, the knowledge available for these students will be illimitable. Orkut, Facebook, Twitter, all of them have a positive side.

Type any subject at Google and you will get an enormous number of answers. What positive result can one get from these new search tools? What consequences will they have when it comes to developing the children’s critical sense, when trying to discover if a source is safe or not?

Some teachers refuse do accept these technologies, some may even reject e-mail. If used in a good way, what harm can they bring?

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This text was taken from a website and it brings out an interesting subject. Some teacher refuse to use (or even to get to know) some technologies. Why? Don't we have enough proofs that they can be useful for the students?

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Permalink Reply by Lin DiRenzo on June 16, 2010 at 1:27pm

This is interesting, as I recall reading recently that Brazil has the highest percentage of "social networking" users per capita. And while yes, I agree that Internet access is vital. My question is, "Are teachers refusing to use the technologies or is it simply unavailable?" It might be more a question of infrastructure.

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Permalink Reply by Manuela on June 16, 2010 at 1:40pm

Recently I was at a congress about education and, while talking to some principals and teachers, I heard them say that no way they use e-mail. They refuse to have one.

Of course, for many people, it is unavailable. But I can't understand those that refuse it for their own will.

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Permalink Reply by rawkboy on June 17, 2010 at 2:40am

This is also a big problem in swedish schools. Because of the fact that we still have so many small schools outside the big cities, they have a tendency to reject the internet which in the end leads to that students have no idea how to use the internet when they start to reach a higher form of education (i.e when they leave 9th grade).
From my experiences this means that they do know how to use the internet but they don't know HOW to use the internet.

A big problem and a hard one to solve.