I don't know what got into me; I never do stuff like this. I called a morning talk show during my commute to work and they actually put me on the air. It was cool.
The discussion was about high school students using the internet for research papers. One of the hosts heard about a teacher who has banned the internet as a source for all papers in a class for a semester. She thought it was absurd and unreasonable that a teacher would do this "in this day and age." Her co-host thought it was perfectly acceptable because students should know how to use other research methods, too.
Anyone who knows me can probably guess which stance I took. I am firmly in the 'perfectly acceptable to ban internet use for a time' camp. I am of the opinion that knowing how to get around a library and use the card catalog (which is online itself) are valuable skills that everyone should have. The internet is a wonderful tool but it's not the only one available, therefore shouldn't be the only one relied upon.
There were a lot of reasons tossed around in support of both points of view. Someone mentioned the widespread plagiarism since the advent of the internet. Someone else brought up software that searches out pieces of papers and alerts teachers to possible plagiarism. Someone said that not everyone has a computer and someone else said that there are computers in libraries which brought the library back into the discussion. I brought up the fact that there are an ever increasing number of functional illiterates in our society and I think our lack of actual reading and writing has something to do with that. The woman host said flat-out, "I don't believe that." I laughed at her.
Like any discussion with no definite answer, this one traced itself in many circles. But it was fun to listen and discuss. And I was on the freakin' radio. :grin:
2 comments:
Nice! I think that there are plenty of people who are aliterate. They can read, but don't.
As a teacher, I look at the internet as a tool. Just one. But, to ban it? Not so much. I limit how many internet sources a student can have. Unfortunately, this can lead to problems. Not every subject is covered in our school library, and not every parent is dedicated enough to take their child to the public library (parental dedication is a whole other subject!!!). It is all about finding a balance.
My wife's biggest frustration with technology and education comes with the use of calculators. Students are now allowed to use calculators to solve basic computations. Students no longer understand why they are doing something or what it is they are doing, they just know how to do it. that isn't the same as true knowledge.
Kudos to you for stating your opinion in such a public forum!
Aliterate. That's a good word choice.
I wouldn't agree with banning the internet altogether, but for a semester or a couple of papers, yes.
Post a Comment