Teeswater News – Online!

Dis-engaging Technology!

By: Mark W. Law (February 15, 2012)

Benner turned 16 a couple months ago.

It is kind of amazing to step back and realize that he has never known a world without the Internet. But he is not alone. Since I built my first website in 1993, 7.8 million of his peers have been born in Canada – one quarter of our entire population!

For the rest of us there is a sense of sadness that they will never know who Ed Sullivan was, will only see the Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon or Paul Henderson’s famous goal on Youtube, miss a world where ‘phoning’ someone often meant a rotary dial and/or party line.

Recently Bluewater School District announced that they are looking seriously at permanently cancelling the ‘Tech’ program in K-8 schools. For those of you who are unaware of Tech, it is a program whereby students are bussed over to Kincardine to the Tech Centre to engage in technology enrichment – designing cars, learning about electronics etc. Benner took the program when he was at Hillcrest and LOVED it! It was this first exposure to technology that, I believe, lead to his interest in programs like MedQuest (last summer).

The program goal was simple, provide the facilities and tools in one location so that schools would not be competing for ‘tech dollars’. But time marches on and like most school programs it is becoming increasingly expensive to maintain even one facility. Ergo last weeks announcement.

But what is the real cost?

Sure, we can say that the tools are outdated, or that kids now know more about technology than their teachers (give me 10 minutes and I can prove that one wrong!) or that these ‘underwater basket weaving’ courses take dollars away from the 3 R’s; but the truth is that the BIGGEST cost in eliminating tech programs can be summarized in one word…

ENGAGEMENT.

Studies have shown that “…learning through projects while equipped with technology tools allows students to be intellectually challenged while providing them with a realistic snapshot of what the modern office looks like. Through projects, students acquire and refine their analysis and problem-solving skills as they work individually and in teams to find, process, and synthesize information they’ve found online…” (Edutopia – The George Lucas Foundation).

In other words technology education engages and challenges young people while helping them build all important teamwork skills.

And technology education engages families! Again studies have shown that programs like Tech open avenues of communication between parents and children, affording opportunities to ‘play together’. Watching Benner explain to me the working of a simple electric motor brought back memories of winding my first armature in Mr. Winter’s Grade 7 class in 1970. We may not have done much for the ‘AA’ battery population in our house but it sure was fun!

I am a geek. I live in the techie world many hours per day (too many at times!), but I am a parent first. And it just seems to me that taking away a program that engages kids and families is not a good thing.

The Bluewater Board is no doubt in rough seas financially, but certainly they can find the money for a Tech program, or reasonable alternative.

Or at least ‘Engage’ us in a dialogue.

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Mark W. Law has been a writing and journalism fanatic since he was first tagged to write a 3 act ’shadow play’ – in Grade 2! Originally from the wee hamlet of Oyster Bay, BC, Mark has worked in many parts of the world, including almost all of the Canadian provinces, the United States, Europe and even a sand-filled radio station in North Africa. During that time he has written for military and local newspapers, served as editor for a number of online magazines as well as publishing his own popular ezine for new writers and artists – The ThinWire Journal. Mark has also penned more than 100 poems and essays and is an internationally known digital artist. And for anyone who lived in Northern BC during the 1980’s and 1990’s, Mark was the ‘morning weatherman’ on CBC Radio. Opinions expressed in ‘the View’ are his own and do not necessarily reflect Teeswater or Teeswater.Ca.

Filed Under: Featured, Schools, The View
Tags: electronics etc, facilities and tools, technology education, technology enrichment, technology tools, words technology education