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It's a very interesting article, but not exactly a call to arms for
Luddites.  It seems to me that the issue raised in this article is not
technology, but instruction.  If instruction is dominated by
one-size-fits-all, one-way information transfer, regardless of whether you
do it with chalk and slate or projectors and presentation software, then
both motivation and learning are likely to be disappointing.

I have seen excellent examples (including at ASTC conferences) where
presentation software was used more constructively than it is in many 50
minute monologues, but it was naive to think that technology alone would
stop most professors from talking to themselves.  Having students develop
and present ideas themselves is one small step in the right direction, but
there are many better tools that can be used with projectors.  Simulations,
games, visualizations, and virtual worlds are all ways to turn whiteboards
into deep learning environments, as long as the teacher is ready to
facilitate that learning.  Modeling approaches (modeling.asu.edu) often use
markerboards to share out student ideas, but smart boards would not only
allow sharing, but also capture of thinking for analysis after-the-fact by
either students or teachers.  There are many, many other examples, and about
the only thing they have in common is that they feature knowledge
development by a group working together (a learning community), rather than
by a single person expounding.

Dave Smith

On Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 12:12 PM, David Savory <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
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> Down with Smart Boards! Down with PowerPoint!
>
> http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i42/42a00103.htm
>
>
> David Savory
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-- 
David L. Smith
Da Vinci Science Center
Allentown, PA
http://www.davinci-center.org

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was
listening, everything must be said again.  -- Andre Gide

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