"Inclusive Classrooms" and "Computers and Student Growth"
Is the Inclusive Classroom Model Workable?
Yes: Sapon-Shevin, M. (2008). Learning in an Inclusive Community (pp. 232-238)
Mara Sapon-Shevin backs up her belief that inclusive classrooms are positive and beneficial for students developing into a democratic society. Inclusion is not meant to distinguish the minority in the class from everyone else, but it is a way to welcome every student and their families into a society where everyone is treated as equal. Students must be looked at as each having their own unique "gift" and it is the teacher's job to find the gifts and use them as a basis for an inclusive classroom. When I was younger I experienced firsthand the negative stereotypes that people can place on one another. My high school was half Native Americans and half Caucasian. My school welcomed the culture of the Native Americans by having events such as pow-wows, native lunches and a native resource room. My high school also gave the option to take Ojibway as a class. In a sense my school was taking the same beliefs Sapon-Shevin has and made everyone familiar and comfortable with diversity. I was able to understand the Native American Culture because of things I had learned in school. Another great point that Sapon-Shevin makes is that we must not make differences invisible but rather we must develop the language and skill to negotiate diversity. In the end, everyone is a human being who comes to earth and brings something of individual value that no one else has. These individual values or gifts must be displayed so that we can learn from one another and accept everyone equally. - Rick No: Carpenter, W.A. (2008). The Other Side of Inclusion (pp. 239-243)
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Do Computers Negatively Affect Student Growth?
Yes: Monke, L. (2004). The Human Touch (pp. 318-324)
Lowell Monke is arguing that computers negatively affect student growth. The basis of his argument is that no proof exists that technological learning is any more effect than traditional learning (Monke, Pg. 316). Monke goes on to further argue that technological learning increases the reliance of abstract learning and a decrease in physical learning (Monke, Pg. 317). Abstract learning by its definition means less physical contact or understanding. This is a problem because there is more to learning than just simply knowing the information which is what abstract learning does. In order for someone to have complete knowledge of an idea or concept one must be able to understand it on its physical terms. The over reliance on technological learning takes away that context which means all the information that is gathered holds no emotional or physical value which leads to a decrease in quality. Cole. No: Hess, F.M. (2004). Technical Difficulties (325-332)
Computers do not negatively affect student growth; rather they stimulate the minds of students into the necessary expansion required in the technologically advancing world. Hess (2004), points out the value of distance-learning courses as of 2002 (p. 327) when the idea really was just coming out of its infantile stage. Nowadays, any university student can see how widely the use of computers in education has grown. When I began my undergrad at the University of Windsor in 2006, computers were necessary for looking at many online journals and for typing papers. Within a few short years the amount of resources available to myself as a history student had grown to an unbelievable amount through the digitization of rare archives and texts. This made research worlds easier, and on top of this, my teachers by the end of undergrad had begun using the University’s class site, CLEW, to communicate with students, and in some cases run entire classes. From my own experiences as a teaching assistant I also had the unique opportunity to view this progression from the other side. My first three jobs as a teaching assistant had been in regular classes in which I would sometimes attend lectures and plan to meet in person with students to go over papers. However, for my fourth and final spot as a teaching assistant, the course was of the distance education variety meaning everything was done through CLEW over the internet. My main job was to mark online discussions for a class of about 60 or so students. CLEW not only allowed students to converse and debate with each other at anytime; it also allowed students to participate who, in person, may have been too shy. Ryan |