Rethinking Education Chapter 2

First of all, I want to start off by saying, I really like this book. Its an easy read, and it is actually very fascinating. Next, my thoughts about chapter two are as follows. I understand that technology is where the schools are headed and obviously thats a smart move because that's where the world is headed. But my question is, what happens if some school districts can't afford to keep up wtih the new technology? Do those children in that district just get forgotten and are behind on the world of technology? Also, it still blows my mind that we are able to talk to someone in Europe from the comfort of our own home. The whole idea of all this technology really excites me, but it also sets me on edge a little bit. What if I am unable to stay on top of all the new technologies? Am I always going to have to go to technology conferences for the rest of my life in order to try and stay ahead of the game with my students?
Next, I don't understand what just in time learning is, but I totaly agree when they say that most of what we learn throughout our schooling years we will forget. I have always said that, or questioned my teachers on the relativity of having to learn a specific topic.
"Computer based learning environments are likely to make education much more engaging" (19) I agree with this statement, but at the same time do you think that its going to be a distraction? I think with any teacher, its all in the way you present information. If you hand a child a history book and tell them to read the first 3 chapters and take a quiz online, their not going to get a lot out of it because I don't think much will be stored in their long term memory. I think that if you were to reenact an event in the chapters that they have to read they will get a lot more out of it and be able to read it a lot more. Although, I feel technology is important to bring into schools, I still believe that the "old school" way of teaching is also very important and its all in the way the teacher presents it to her students! My other thought on technology is that it has a tendency to not work, or crash. For example, today D2L was down state wide. Some classes were unable to access their quizs (even though they should have already been done) but that is just a downfall for technology, what do you do if your relying soley on a specific technology tool?
Lastly, I loved on page 28, last paragraph where their talking about students sitting still, listening to a teacher talk all day, and then having to regurgitate it back onto a test. For me personally, this is how I have always felt, I am a much better learner hands on, and I know most students are not all like that, but I feel that in the teaching society today, many more teachers teach lecture style than hands on. When I become a teacher, I will for sure add in a lot of hands on learning to get students up, engaged, and moving around. Also, I feel like the competition to get good grades ruins students ability to engage thought processes, I think if a student puts all their effort into their work it will be shown, but I think that grades should be the least of their worries.