Tools for the Mind

“Tools for the Mind”, by Mary Burns


Article Overview:

Administrators are scrutinizing the utility of computers in the classroom heavily these days; are computers really helping students achieve higher order learning? Insatiable budget requests have caused much reflection on the issue. One concern voiced by the author was that applications used in the majority of classrooms are not conceptually challenging. Instead of the Microsoft Office suite alone, students should be utilizing spreadsheet, databases, and more complex applications such as GIS. Such applications lead students to analyze and critically think about their learning.

School districts need to embrace the idea of higher order thinking. Burns makes the suggestion for teachers to engage in professional development opportunities that will help them better understand and incorporate the full potential of technology in their classrooms.

Reference Points:

1. Computers can transform student learning.
   


2. Educators are scrutinizing their potential value as an instructional tool.
   


3. Many districts have not made the kinds of accommodations necessary to allow for the full capitalization of classroom technology…
   


4. We often classify all software applications as cognitively and instructionally equal.
   


5. Classrooms rarely use spreadsheets or databases, which are conceptually and technically more difficult.
   


6. [Powerpoint] fails to promote deep, complex, or even developmentally appropriate learning.
   


7. Students practice their critical thinking skills by making assumption s, coding assumptions as variables, manipulation variables, analyzing outcomes, and evaluating and displaying data both quantitatively and visually.
   


8. If higher order thinking is a main goal of instruction, then teachers themselves must keep sharpening their critical thinking skills.
   


9. Professional development should focus on core areas of teaching - content knowledge, curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Reflection:

I think that Burns makes some solid points in her article and offers some great suggestions and challenges for school districts to better utilize technology. I would be very keen and willing to participate in professional development opportunities developed on increasing higher-order thinking. It is important to recognize that having computers is not the end all, students and teachers need to be empowered and enabled to use technology to its highest potential.

Although Burns criticizes the overuse of the Microsoft suite complex, I have to argue that I find it a super valuable resource in the classroom. Word, excel, and powerpoint are used extensively by our students to organize and analyze data and produce visuals such as graphs and tables to illustrate their conclusions.