[The following paragraph--an excerpt from a paper debating whether Pellissippi should provide laptops to students--is by Gus Green, who just completed my English 1010/Freshman Composition I course. It appears in its original version--as he submitted it to me.]
Computers
would enhance educator’s abilities to communicate information, improving
student’s success. Often, teacher’s ways
of presenting information in class does not effectively educate every student
because of people’s varied learning styles.
For instance, I still have to review material in multiple ways to
remember everything because the teacher talked the entire class or only wrote
notes. These ill thought out approaches
don’t accommodate for the three different styles of learning, including visual, auditory and
kinesthetic. Visual learners comprehend
best by seeing written notes and writing content down (Ellis). Auditory learners absorb information best by
hearing it and talking out lout (Ellis).
Kinesthetic learners digest work the most by doing hands on activities
or building three-dimensional representations (Ellis). The addition of computers would help with
engaging all the different styles. In a
recent research project teachers got encouraging results integrating technology
into a New York school system. During
the experiment, fourth grade teacher Sarah Kougemitros used computers to aid
her teaching by “blending online learning with traditional teaching” which “motivated”
her students (Martinez). Her kids read
from a computer but had the choice to read it themselves or listen to a
recorded version. With the computer’s
flexibility more students understood the material. This looks like a simple
success but it helped aid students who normally “would zone out and not be
engaged” (Martinez). If integrated,
computers would contribute needed interaction in Pellissippi classrooms
creating an engaging learning experience.
Works Cited
Martinez,
Barbara. “Blending Computers into Classrooms.” Wall Street Journal (online). (2010). ERIC. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Ellis,
Dave. Becoming a Master Student. Ed. Dave Ellis. 13th ed.
Boston: Wadsworth, 2011.42-44. Print.
