Posted by All for tech in the classroom, a member of the Menlo-Atherton High School community, on Mar 29, 2012 at 10:14 am

I support technology in the classroom but, it is also a huge money sucker. High school teachers and staff are supplied technology that they don't need or even know how to use, like ipads. Why? Because they want it just for the sake of having it, and scream and cry until they get what they want. They don't care if they "lose" their assigned laptops because they can just complain until the schools buy them a shiny new one. Do you really want your children's educational funding to go into unused tech and replacing "lost laptops"?

Posted by R.Gordon, a resident of another community, on Mar 29, 2012 at 11:15 am

It is no secret that TECHNOLOGY is going to be the driving force of the 21st C. and the above post is really not realistic and jumps to conclusions.

There will be many good teachers who will be needed to round out educations dealing with other subjects that do not involve Ipad know how and they can coexist with laptops very handily.

History and science are the best example of how many areas including the arts and grammar and language which are stunningly behind the tech world.Ultimately, fewer Steve Jobs and Bill Gates' will be emerging as trendsetters and the competition to do so, will be fierce and cutthroat.

Those two gentlemen represent individuals who changed our world despite educational credentials, and, at the same time were/are TRUE HUMANITARIANS.Things like Facebook and tweeting will run their use and be replaced by necessary replacements.

Posted by All for tech in the classroom, a member of the Menlo-Atherton High School community, on Mar 29, 2012 at 12:39 pm

@ R. Gordon - It's not unrealistic. I have seen it happen. Have you worked in IT? Yes, there are good teachers but, you can be a good teacher and not know where the power button is on your computer or with good intentions request a piece of equipment that you don't know how to operate.

Posted by VoxPop, a resident of another community, on Mar 29, 2012 at 1:26 pm

One problem with technology in the classroom is the way it is often introduced. Teachers are given computers or iPads or whatever with no real training in how to use them or guidance on what applications are useful and which useless.

Some of the teachers embrace the technology, lots just view it as an impediment to good teaching and a waste of their time.

Then there's the high cost of keeping computers and software up to date, which the starry eyed technology people seem to skate right on past when promoting their dreams.

Posted by teacher, a resident of the Menlo Park: Felton Gables neighborhood, on Apr 1, 2012 at 3:57 pm

As a teacher, I do use some of the technology available to me, but a significant issue is the lack training, especially ongoing training. Unless we are able to use the technology constantly and become fully aware of its classroom potential, its use tends to lag. Where I teach, we received very limited instruction on the interactive board and what little we received focused on our English as a Second Language program.

Like much of technology in schools, these white boards are very expensive, but at the same time, we teachers often have to supply our own regular board markers and erasers, along with basics like pencils and pens. Additionally, funding to maintain the technology is lacking. If equipment requires repair, it can be days before our *sole technician can get to it. *Lay-offs have eliminated most of our technical support. Are we penny wise and pound foolish?

It would be great to see technology really helping students to learn and to want to learn, but often technolgy beomes more like entertainment and "spoon-feeding" of knowledge thus requiring little effort from the student.