Journal #9

"Failure is NOT an Option" by Dave L. Edyburn

The subtitle of this article is "Collecting, Reviewing, and Acting on Evidence for Using Technology to Enhance Academic Performance" and it specifically addresses how technology can be used to close the "achievement gap." Each school year, many children fail to achieve at grade level, and these children are generally "students of color, those with disabilities, those living in poverty, and those whose first language is not English." The author details in depth the components of performance, how technology can be used as performance support, and the bias in the education community for "Naked Independence." That is, a high premium is placed on students' ability to perform without external help. This is a historical bias that is no longer relevant because a person can perform quite well in our society by knowing how to get information through technology. Having all your knowledge contained in your brain is no longer an neccesity for being an educated person. The author makes the argument that it is time to disregard the bias for naked independence and provide students with the technological tools they need to help achieve equity in our educational system.

Is our educational system slow to adopt technology that would make some students more successful? I agree that this is often the case. Oftentimes expense is the reason. However I think that sometimes we are spending money on interventions we might not need to use, or having to use those interventions for a longer time, than if we adopted certain technologies sooner. An example of this is the Scholastic Read 180 program that incorporates technology for both students and teachers to aid struggling readers. I was recently in a middle school that is experiencing great success with this program. If this program allows the students to become successful in middle school and ensures they finish high school, the cost is definitely worth it.

Are we hanging on to outdated conventions in our bias toward "naked independence?" I think we are. At one time a good memory was essential in absorbing and retaining the knowledge necessary to become an educated person. In our current stage of technological advancement, a good memory is no longer as vital. The internet provides instant access to facts. What is more important is the ability to think critically and evaluate information. For students that struggle I think that spending a lot of time on the memorization component (an area where they probably won't experience success) prevents them from building the more important critical thinking skills that will be what allows them to be successful in school and the workplace.

This very interesting article covers a lot of information about how our educational system needs to evolve to keep pace with the onoging technological revolution, and how this would help students, both in school and in life.