In the Secondary MAC program at the University of Michigan, we were asked to survey our school placements for the use of technology throughout the building. The school I am currently at is considered a high needs school, and is also a charter school, funded by various organizations. Although it is not a public school, the access to technology is fairly limited, which I will explain below. Before actually discussing the availability of technology, I would like to discuss my research process. I would say this began during the professional development at my placement school, when I learned more about the mathematics curriculum, which used computers in the implementation. When the teachers were being trained on implementing the curriculum, we were provided the opportunity to try computer work in one of the high school's two computer labs. There were about 25-30 Apple desktops, which were slow using the internet, and at least 3-4 were not working. Another aspect of my research began even earlier than this.
Before I had actually started my observation at my placement school, I had researched some to try and better understand the environment I was about to enter into for the entire year. I learned that it was a school that valued art, and had heard that there was a particular stress on graphic design, which I thought would require the use of technology. When the school year had started, I found that the two art teachers on my floor (there is one art teacher for each grade level in the high school and middle school), taught mostly with a 2-D medium, such as pencil on paper drawing.I have yet to see students having access to anything other than an Apple computer, usually for research purposes. Perhaps my understanding of graphic design is lacking, but I have only heard rumor of access to tablets for the art classes. Thus, although the school is supposedly known for graphic design, being closely connected to a college specialized in graphic design, the technology available to students is limited.
When I was actually observing in my placement school, there were some other aspects of technology that I noticed as well, such as the spotty internet, and the very restricted WiFi for the school itself. My mentor teacher informed me that although the school had its own internet signal, the free guest signal from the building above the school actually worked better, and that is what I use when I need internet at my placement school. On top of the limited access to technology though, I also had the privilege of being around while a new tech person was hired for the school. Trying to talk to this individual was extremely difficult, because they were constantly running around trying to fix a printer on the second floor, or a projector on the fourth. He was attempting to share his knowledge of technology, while learning about the building he was working in, which is not an easy task.
Although technology is limited, in terms of what is available to students, I was surprised how much the teachers are provided. I guess I am unsure of what is considered normal for secondary education, but each teacher at my placement school received a Mac Pro laptop, as well as an iPhone, that was meant solely for school calls. On top of this, each classroom has its own projector and screen, as well as a classroom telephone for contacting teachers during class. This was interesting to me, because the way the school was built, there was no speaker or P.A. system set up for the classrooms, so individual phone calls is the only way to contact people around the building.
One thing I found particularly interesting was how the mathematics curriculum chosen for the high school relied heavily on the use of computers, as well as having reliable internet access. Technically, the curriculum calls for 60% of the classroom time spent in the classroom, in lecture, while the other 40% is meant for using the online modules to practice skills and deepen their understanding of concepts. I have not been provided the chance to watch students work on the computers, but I know the program is fairly straightforward, and I had heard students were not a fan of the computer work this previous year.
Wow. Reading the description of your placement, and the kinds of technology resources that it has available, I am immediately struck by the high value and visibility placed on technology in the hands of teachers, and the complete 180 degree difference on the student side of things. I listen to a lot of tech podcasts, and one of them is even a roundtable discussion with a group of graphic designers and app developers discussing design decisions and difficulties in something of a sunday morning radio show format. The short version? Computers, (particularly Macs) are indispensable in graphic design. Even print designers, who historically didn't necessarily need to use computers, are now seeing themselves forced to transfer their skills to a digital medium (websites, digital magazines etc.) in order to stay relevant. And, (from what it sounds like) to make matters worse, when you are doing graphical work, you need a better machine, not a slow, clunky half-working in-soviet-russia-photshop-edit-you type machine that you seem to be describing here. Thank you so much for this post. The disparity between resource availability and the seeming mission of the school is really eye-opening.
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