As Professor Ian Howe waited for his projector to be fixed, he generously took the time to answer questions about a subject often discussed today: technology. As a teacher, he was asked how all these new devices affect the way he taught and what it meant for the future of education.
Before laptops and other devices, students took notes from the chalkboard. Today, students can come to school and take notes on their laptops, tablets, or phones, allowing them to take even more notes than before at a quicker pace.
Students at CUNY schools, according to Professor Howe, are behind on this usage, as the technology used in classrooms is outdated, broken or not useful, slowing down their learning. “City College is still using chalk,” says Professor Howe, who has been educating for five and a half years at colleges such as City College and Parsons. “It doesn’t make sense for us as instructors to teach you with outdated things. You grew up with technology.”
In his business classes, students use cell phones for surveys, note taking, video recording for projects, and so forth. He says that it makes his job more effective.
High schools in the city have already begun to incorporate technology in the classrooms. Working technology in the classroom can lead to more collaboration, rather than isolation, as some say. At Millennium High School in lower Manhattan, students use Quizlet in Mandarin classes to study new vocabulary and share study guides. Quizlet is an educational software that provides students with study tools. There are games that connect all students’ smartphones and have them compete against each other. Whoever answers a quiz question wins. The concept is simple and engaging, both entertaining the students and making them more knowledgeable.
Professor Timothy Aubry of Baruch College’s English Department argues that technology, although it is a useful tool in the classroom, may also serve as a distraction to students. Technology “allows us to quickly present a wide variety of materials” according to Professor Aubry. It is a useful pedagogical tool, in his opinion. But he also observes how students are always on their phone, or always looking for a reason to be on it during his class.
High schools are advancing, and community colleges should be too. “[Technology] makes [teaching] easier when it works because all the students already have it,” says Professor Howe. Although different schools spend different amounts of money on new devices for the classroom, nearly every teen and young adult owns a smartphone.
When the IT worker finished fixing Professor Howe’s projector, students began to present their projects enthusiastically. Professor Howe pointed out the projector screen that did not fit, and how he wished the walls were whiteboards instead of just plain walls. This way, he would have students write their ideas down on the board and collaborate. So much class time had been wasted because of the broken projector.