Monday, April 28, 2014

bargain education

Below is a paragraph from a student's discussion of why we crave technology.

Smartphones give students the ability to accomplish basic skills.  When texting or writing an online post, if there is a word that is not spelled correctly, auto correct helps spell the word out right.  Also, there are voice activated translators that help sound out words.  The reason we have "'allow me'' databases, is "Because to misspell is human; to have no idea of correct spelling is to be semiliterate" (Gelernter).  When smart phones correct every misspelled word, it is hard to learn commonly missed mistakes.  Students regularly rely on spell check that smartphones provide.  They like it because it is a shortcut to learning the simple words and makes life easier.  Basic skills are important abilities to learn, but having shortcuts for spelling and grammar is convenience smartphones provide.

This paper prompts two observations:

The cost for an app to correct errors in writing and pronunciation is free.

But what of the literacy and intellectual debt being mounted by education's heavy reliance on these popular "helps"?