[2] Interactivity #2: The History of Technology in Schools

      The technology that I consider to have influenced education most in my content area, art, is the introduction of the slate board and chalk. After viewing the first video I immediately connected this to my methods course where I learned that Walter Smith introduced the method of drawing on the slate board, and having students (mainly boys at the time) copy it over and over again. This was preparing them for industry design which at the time Smith felt needed to be domesticated due to the high price of importing. I also learned in my methods course that mimicking is a necessary step students take in art development, which is interesting because Smith and others of his time believed that the mind was a muscle that "needed to be repetitively exercised". After reading the interview article I again confirmed that this technology made its impact in other ways by allowing the teacher to teach to the class as a group instead of walking around to each student individually.  Students were now actively taking a role in the construction of their education versus passively receiving the information relayed by the teacher. The negative impact of this, which Grace's grandmother agreed with, was the closeness to which education resembled the factory. I was appalled that her supervisor actually said schooling needs to display the "efficiency of an assembly line." This eliminates the purpose of (modern) art which is to express one's self and creativity. (I say modern because art was originally used to document events, important people, and such.) 

      A controversial technology developed and implemented during this time period in formalized schooling were motion pictures/"commercials" (Channel One). I believe their impact on art was more of a undesirable one due to the fact art was being used as propaganda, but I will provide both the good and the bad impacts the introduction of film to the classroom had. First I believe it’s important to consider these few things which I learned through the Chapter 2 readings- Common schools were created in effort to create a cohesive body of democratic citizens. This was seen as a need due to the influx of immigrants. But there was a problem; the issues with the common school were that most were only one classroom, which meant a high and diverse population of students, most of which were ESL students. This is where I see motion pictures as a positive addition to education at that time. Teachers who couldn't communicate with their ESL students could rely on the motion pictures (the instructional films) to communicate visually to the students.  These videos commonly embedded values, lessons and even encouraged patriotism. These videos would have also benefited the English speaking students with limited literacy. 

      The issue to bringing these films into schools was the concern of their educational value. Grace's grandmother brought up the controversial debate of Channel One, which was a program played every morning- it was 12 minutes long, 2 minutes of which were commercials. You may wonder how this was even allowed..Basically, technology was wanted in schools, but it was expensive. Administration signed contracts which got them free equipment at the expense of the students being exposed to 2 minutes of commercials every day. This left teachers with the responsibility to teach students to become critical viewers and how to detect propaganda in media. Two views I saw as interesting and relating to this issue were cultural criticism and protectionism. Cultural criticism is something I believe I can relate to today through the commercials, advertisements and TV shows which definitely promote oppressive ideologies and stereotypes. This overlaps with protectionism in where it seeks censorship over harmful technologies and their content- Cultural criticism actually fights against schools from giving companies advertising rights and protectionism fears that technologies can exert heavy influences upon users (especially young ones). To me these perspectives go hand in hand. Being that students are exposed when they are so young to these technologies it is important to start educating them about this manipulation as soon as technology becomes a part of their life. This use of film today is not so different from the use it had over 100 years ago. We still see films that instill certain values and morals in people, advertising still targets audiences, and there are definitely instructional videos still being made but today we call them tutorials. An example that comes to mind is the commonly known Joe Camel ads, that we don't see today due to some sort of regulations or lawsuit I'm sure. Cartoon characters, bright vibrant colors and other factors are regularly used in advertisements that are meant to attract the youth. Teachers today are no different from the way they were in the sense that it is still our responsibility to teach students to detect, analyze and be critical users of technologies to avoid being targets of marketing and propaganda.

     

      Ultimately the success or failure of technology in a classroom does depend on the teacher. I think it’s important to consider that when using technology you need to make sure your students comprehend the information. Sometimes there are technologies that are more 'fun' and less educational (such as the Oregon Trail- which I really, really liked to play but I can't seem to remember if what I learned was more educational versus fun). Something future administration needs to consider is how to keep future teachers on track with technology. Being that I will be considered a "digital native," I can use my knowledge to help my students become responsible users of technology and I will be able to use the technology in my classroom efficiently, but it is still necessary for me to keep up to date with the latest thing. This is where administration should have workshops on the newest developments. Just like my previous blog, I think it's important to gauge where students' views on technology are and use them to help push them towards the responsible users we should all try to be.

      On a final note I thought it was a great idea (stated in the interview) to have the students review a McDonald's commercial and look for persuasion techniques- my idea of a positive use of current media.

The art form of film is shown above being used as a way to embed desirable behaviors into adolescents (Still shot from Etiquette Film 1940s).

          Domine, Vanessa. "A Social History of Media, Technology and Schooling." The National Association for Media Literacy Education's Journal of Media Literacy Education 1 (2009): 42-52. JMLE. Web. 1 Feb. 2012.

Domine, Vanessa Elaine. Rethinking Technology in Schools Primer.  New York: Peter Lang, 2009. Print.