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This video, and this concept, is a bit narrow-minded in my opinion. It isn't my job to teach children how to use computers or the internet. It will all be different in 10-20 years anyway.
It is my job as a teacher to help students develop the skills to adapt to a rapidly changing environment, not to adapt to the current environment.
The kid might not be a brat. He might just be a brat-in-training. He's just saying what Dad told him to say. (See 1:30 to 1:45 - these aren't his own thoughts.)
There are really two separate issues here. First, should teachers be computer literate and second, to what extent should computers be integrated into classroom instruction.
With respect to the first question the answer is obviously yes. We are in a day and age in which all white collar and professional jobs presume a degree of computer literacy. One simply cannot function in the modern school, hospital, office or other white collar workplace without a high degree of computer literacy. Teaching is not unique. In my previous profession working as a management biologist for the government I'd not even think of hiring anyone who was not completely computer literate and proficient in Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and in that job database software like Oracle. Teaching is no different. A teacher who can't function on a PC is like a teacher who can't read.
As for the second question. It is a LOT more difficult to integrate computer technology into most classrooms than the outside observer might think. Keeping kids on task in an open computer environment is an endless chore. Most schools do not have sufficient resources to provide every student with a computer or tablet so teachers share computer labs and laptop carts. My school has 6 computer labs and about 8 laptop carts (with 30 laptops per cart) which comes to about 1 set of computers for every 5-6 classrooms. I have given up having students do research reports to print and turn in because they just copy and paste out of wikipedia. Instead when I do computer research assignments I usually have them create powerpoints that they then present to the class which doesn't completely eliminate the copying and pasting but at least they have to get up and present the material and they generally have to edit it down to bullets. As for all the social media stuff. Some of the younger teachers are heavily into it. I'm not. I maintain a web site where I post all the assignments and reference material but that's about it. I'm not really interested in maintaining conversation and contact with students and parents outside of class via social networking.
Where I see a much larger future role for computers in the classroom is in the area of standardized testing. Computers are by far the best way to administer standardized tests in a way that generates usable data and prevents cheating. The whole world of education is moving more and more into standardized high stakes testing. That's not necessarily a good thing, just what it is. I expect that in the future the scantron bubble tests will go the way of the dial telephone and kids will be taking all their tests on computers or tablets. Grading is instant. Each kid can be given a randomized or customized test that is different from their neighbor. And there are no paper answer sheets for wandering eyes to peek on. Plus you can examine the data by kid, class, or school on a question by question and topic by topic basis which simply can't be done with paper tests.
The brat who thinks he should be getting a computer in class to do facebook is really more likely to get one for taking more rigorous and difficult standardized tests. I'm not sure that's what he had in mind.
The OP expected more angry posts. . . here is one. Okay, not so much "angry," but definitely annoyed.
Any worthwhile issues that could be raised are clouded by the character of this video. Did the parents not think of how this might be perceived? There are ways to make suggestions. They do not include having your kid parrot the same crap over and over again.
I don't need children or parents to tell me what my job is and/or how to do it. "That's your job!" Really? Thanks, kid. I'll keep that in mind.
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